


Smoke And Mirrors

by nyghtmare



Category: Watch Dogs (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Hacking, M/M, Sexual Content, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, Violence, Voodoo, Witches
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2018-11-13 02:44:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11175357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nyghtmare/pseuds/nyghtmare
Summary: Marcus has been trying to get inside Blume for months, but he quickly finds himself in over his head when he discovers a whole other world right under his nose. Blume's real goal isn't just to spy on humans, it's to expose those who aren't. Now with DedSec's help, Marcus has to put a stop to Blume before it's too late.Set in the same world as Watch Dogs 2, but with a supernatural twist.





	1. Chapter 1

The sun had long since set over San Francisco and the vibrant hues of a dying day had faded into a dull black. The city lights far below flickered around like a sea of stars, tiny artificial dancing fires so bright they turned the sky into an inky black that swallowed up any stars that may have attempted to shine through. It was a clear night, now well past midnight and yet the city thrived on despite the chill in the air.

Streets were still lined with cars and the sidewalks, normally packed during the day, still contained quite a few people for the hour. They were noisily spilling out of bars and restaurants, heading to wherever they called home for the night. None of them paid any mind to the man pushing past them in a rush to escape his pursuers.

Marcus Holloway couldn’t hear anything past the blood pounding in his ears yet he knew _they_ were still chasing him. Whoever they were. He ran, speeding down alley ways, vaulting over walls. His lungs burned, screaming at him to stop, but he couldn’t. Not with his pursuers close behind. What had he done? The fuck if he knew.

Okay that may have been partially a lie. He _had_ hacked into a few of Blume’s CTos, but was that cause for guns and chasing?

He’d received an encrypted email that morning from someone that he’d been unable to track warning him of corruption in Blume. Of course he knew that already, he’d been trying to find a way in for months, but the sender seemed to have already known that. They’d attached a program that was full of voodoo programming, it made no sense, but it had helped him bypass Blume’s firewalls.

Once he was in, it wasn’t long before his current pursuers had showed up. He left a backdoor and bolted. Whatever was in that program must have alerted security instantly, but surely the company wouldn’t hire thugs to stop a single hacker… They’d chased him half way across the city never once losing his trail.

Finally, he came to a stop in front of a garage door, his pursuers closing in quickly behind him. His only option was to duck inside and hope his pursuers went right by. Lucky for him the door was accessed by a keypad. He tugged out his phone and with a few quick clicks, the door began opening. He ducked inside before it was even halfway up and closed it again just as quick. He didn’t bother look to see where he was as he flipped off the doorway, backing up further into the garage.

He doubled over, hands on his knees as he struggled to catch his breath. His lungs had needed the rest. His heart was still hammering away.

“The fuck are you?”

Marcus spun around fast, his heart was already hammering in his chest and it leapt into his throat the second he found the owner of the voice directly behind him, so close there was barely any space between them. He relaxed a second later, however, when he noticed the man was wearing a spiked mask that flashed emojis at him. How was he supposed to take the man seriously?

“How did you even get in here? The place is warded,” the man asked in a synthetic voice when Marcus didn’t respond. “Josh, how’d he get passed the wards?” He turned toward a second man who was sitting on the other side of the room, a computer placed in his lap. “You and Horatio designed them to keep out the humans.”

“Horatio and I are humans,” Josh replied.

“You know what I meant,” the masked man added. “Well, you’re only half.”

“I can see you two are busy,” Marcus said, backing towards the door. “I’ll just be on my w—”

The masked man moved quick, too fast for Marcus to see. The next thing he knew, the man had him pinned against the door with a steel grip on his throat. Marcus was lucky he could still breathe. His hands flew up, tugging helplessly at the tattooed hand on his neck. He was on his toes, trying to keep his neck as free as possible.

“Wrench,” Josh warned. “Don’t.”

“How’d he get passed the fucking wards?” the man, who Marcus assumed was Wrench, asked. “You smell like a dud to me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Marcus choked out. “Fuck… man…”

“He doesn’t know,” Josh replied. “Let him go.”

Wrench shrugged and released Marcus like it was nothing. “Sorry man, my mistake. You can fuck off n— hunters?” Question marks flashed on Wrench’s mask, but they quickly cycled to exclamation marks as he looked back at Josh.

Josh finally looked up from his computer. “What?”

“Motherfucker, you brought hunters?!” Wrench’s head turned back to Marcus.

Marcus felt Wrench’s eyes boring into him even if he couldn’t see the other looking at him directly. “Who? Listen man, I don’t know what crazy shit you are all into, but I have to get the fuck up out of here. Some dudes are chasing me, I just needed a place to lie low.”

“He can’t be a dud,” Josh said, closing his computer as he got to his feet. “We have to go.”

“You, what’s your name?” Wrench asked, poking Marcus in the chest with a long finger. “Thanks to you, we’re going to have to move this place again.”

“Marcus,” he responded, not really sure why he answered. He should be running, not making friends with the crazies.

“Well, Marcus, it’s your lucky day,” Wrench announced in a loud voice like an actor from a cheesy action film. X’s were blinking on his mask. “Let’s get the fuck out of here. Come on.”

Josh was already waiting by the opposite door. His computer was in a bag now safely thrown over his shoulder. He waved a hand in front of the door and it began pulling up. “Hurry,” he said as he slipped outside.

“After you,” Wrench said, bowing as he stepped aside and gestured for Marcus to move. “We have a safe place they can’t get to, but we need to move fast.”

Marcus knew he should have bolted the second they were outside, but after the display inside, he knew Wrench was faster and he wasn’t too sure he’d get away. Besides, if they really knew who was after him, maybe it was for his best interest to follow them. He’d been running for a good portion of the evening and he’d barely stayed ahead of his pursuers. A little help couldn’t hurt. Could it?

“You and Josh first. He’ll lead the way,” Wrench said as Josh closed the door with another wave of his hand. Marcus couldn’t help but wonder what kind of programming Josh had to close a door with such a simple movement of his hand.

Suddenly a gunshot rang out and Wrench responded instantly, darting in front of Marcus just in time. Marcus watched in horror as the bullet sunk into Wrench’s arm.

“Go!” Wrench breathed out, staggering a little, but it was the only sign he’d been shot.

Marcus watched as a drop of vibrantly red blood led a trail slowly down the other’s pale skin. He was in shock, but more so over the fact that Wrench didn’t acknowledge the wound at all.

“Go!” Wrench said again, pushing Marcus and this time Marcus ran, chasing after Josh as Wrench remained close on his heels. It wasn’t long before another bullet whizzed by them, burying itself in the wall of a building.

Wrench grunted, the only sign he was in pain or even shot at all. “Keep going! You assholes are so slow, you’re going to get me killed!”

“But you were just…?!” Marcus started, but he didn’t finish he sentence. People did weird things when their adrenaline was pumping, but how had Wrench remained on his feet? And how was Josh unphased that his friend had just been shot? He needed to save his breath, talking and running never worked.

“Yes, now fucking run!” Wrench shouted, propelling Marcus forward with a push to his back.

“This way,” Josh said, ducking through alley after alley. He was trying to shake off their pursuers, but it was no use.

Marcus lost track of where they were heading, but their pursuers were close on their trail. His lungs were burning, but adrenaline kept him going. He had no idea how Wrench could have been shot and yet seemed completely unbothered, keeping up with them with ease.

“Here,” Josh said, running right into a store titled _Gary’s Games & Glory_.

Marcus came to an abrupt stop. “This isn’t the time to play D&D! They’re right behind us!”

Wrench didn’t even stop. He grabbed Marcus’s arm in a vice grip and tugged, practically dragging the confused man behind him.

“What the fuck, man!” Marcus tried to pull away, but Wrench was ridiculously strong. The masked man didn’t even budge. He tried to yell out to the people in the shop, but none of them seemed to even notice. Which only made Marcus worry more. How could no one see him? When Wrench stopped and Marcus was finally able to catch his balance, he took a swing at the tattooed man in a last attempt to break free.

Wrench turned and caught Marcus’s fist in his palm with ease. “Come on, is that a way to thank someone who just saved your life?”

Josh paused before an empty corner of the wall and lifted a hand. His palm pressed against the bare surface, fingers splayed. Marcus watched as thin threads of electricity weaved and flickered around Josh’s fingers so faint he had to squint to make sure he was really eve seeing it at all. The lines jumped from Josh’s hand and seeped into the wall.

The wall seemed to shudder as a clean crack formed near the ground. It shot up and around until it took the shape of a large door. Suddenly the centre seemed to liquify, melting from the top down into a small, white puddle of paint that revealed a real door.

Marcus swore, his eyes wide. “I must be tripping…”

Wrench snorted. “No, but I do have some good shit. Josh is just showing off.”

Josh quickly punched in a code on a small keypad beside the newly revealed door. It took a moment before he was able to throw open the door. “Go in, I’ll seal it up behind us.”

Wrench pulled Marcus through the door and down a flight of stairs into a world of graffiti and computers and quickly out of the site of whatever Josh was doing behind them.

“Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on!” Marcus erupted as soon as Wrench released him.

“Who is this? Wrench, you can’t go bringing people back here!” A woman with purple tipped hair had crossed the room to greet them, but she wasn’t looking at Marcus. Her eyes glared at Wrench. “What did you do to him?”

“Him? I’m the one who got shot, Sitara!”

“You’ll heal!”

“If Horatio can get this fucking bullet out!”

“If only they’d shot you in the vocal cords.”

Marcus had no idea what was going on. His head spun and the only thing he could think of was that he’d somehow stumbled his ass into some kind of cult. A cult of crazy people and now he was hallucinating. That was the only answer he had for any of it.

“Marcus, are you okay? You don’t look so hot. Maybe you should sit down,” Sitara said, approaching him.

Marcus’s hand flew to his head. “How do you know me?” He felt dizzy, the world was swaying around him. How the hell had he gotten himself into this situation? Maybe it was all a dream. He’d wake up in the morning and everything would be fine.

“Marcus? _That_ Marcus? The one you’ve been looking for?” Wrench asked and it was the last thing Marcus heard as the ground came up to meet him when he slipped into unconsciousness.

Still hoping it was all a dream.


	2. Chapter 2

_Marcus woke with a groan. He was disoriented. He had no idea where he was or how he’d gotten there. The only thing he was sure of was the solid wall he was leaning against and the soft cushion beneath him. He tried to open his eyes, but could see nothing. The room, at least he assumed it was a room, was dark. So dark, he couldn’t even see his own hand in front of his face._

_He felt a cold shiver of panic race up his spine and his body shuddered. Was he blind? No, he couldn’t be, but where the fuck was he? And why was it so dark?_

_He tried to stand, sliding his back up the wall as he intended to follow it. There had to be a light switch somewhere, but he took two steps and instantly fell to the ground when he missed the edge of whatever he’d been on._

_Suddenly laughter filled the room and soon two digital X’s appeared throwing enough light to reveal the mask they belonged too. Wrench. “Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to walk on a bed?”_

_“I can’t see a fucking thing! Where the hell am I?” Marcus demanded. He sat up carefully, but was relieved when he realised there was no pain._

_Wrench laughed again. “It’s your dream, you tell me.”_

_Marcus scowled. “What is wrong with you people? Can’t you just tell me the truth?” He climbed to his feet again, this time he was on solid ground._

_Wrench shrugged. “I am telling the truth. I’m flattered, you’re dreaming about me,” he replied. Two mocking less-than-three hearts appeared on his mask before cycling back into the default x’s._

_“If I was dreaming, why would it be about you?” Marcus replied. “Turn on the light at least.”_

_“I don’t know, I like the dark,” Wrench replied. “And I can’t.”_

_“Why not…?” Marcus replied._

_“Because it’s your dream, you control it,” Wrench responded._

_Marcus frowned and lifted his hand to rub his face. Wrench was impossible to deal with. Still, maybe he was dreaming… How else could he explain any of this? None of what he’d been through in the past day had made any rational sense._

_“Let there be light?” Marcus said, thrusting his hands in the air like he was trying to cast a spell, he heard Wrench laugh, but the lights suddenly flooded the room anyway. Marcus cringed, blinking away the sudden harsh light, but his eyes quickly adjusted. He found himself in his own bedroom._

_Wrench had crossed the room and dropped down on to the bed. “Nice flourish.”_

_“What the fuck just happened? How the hell did I get here? How did you…? Did you bring me here?” Marcus pressed his palms against his eyelids, trying to clear his mind, but he couldn’t feel the pressure. He really must have been dreaming. He’d never been so confused in his life._

_“Told you, you’re dreaming.” Wrench shrugged, leaning his back against the wall as he drew a leg up onto the bed. “You passed out. I caught you and now you’re sleeping on our couch. You are dreaming,” he said. “Evidently, this is where you feel safe.”_

_“Man, why do you keep fucking with me?”_

_“Do you believe in the supernatural?”_

_Marcus scowled. “No.”_

_“You should.”_

_“Why? Look, man, I don’t know what you’re on, but I have shit to do so—” Marcus started, but he never finished the sentence Wrench had disappeared only to reappear directly in front of him._

_Wrench pinned Marcus against the wall with one hand on Marcus’s chest. “Because I’m part of it and now you are too,” he said. “I’m not human.”_

_Marcus burst out laughing. “Sure you aren’t. Damn I must be high. This really is some dream.” Marcus shook his head, the grin still on his lips. Clearly, he really was lucid dreaming. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d done it. His brain must be trying to rationalize the events of the day. Maybe it was guilt that Wrench had gotten shot because of him._

_“Is it that hard to believe other creatures exist?” Wrench asked, a curious note in his voice._

_“Yes,” Marcus replied. “Because they don’t.”_

_“Are you so sure about that?”_

_“Are you going to suck my blood, Dracula?” Marcus joked._

_Wrench leaned in close. His masked face was inches from Marcus’s and the LED screen was blank. He tilted his head slightly as he if he was calculating what Marcus was going to do. When the other man didn’t stop him, he leaned in towards Marcus’s ear. “Wake up.”_

 

***

 

Marcus gasped, sitting up fast. It took him a moment to realise where he was and it definitely wasn’t his bedroom. TV’s flashed in front of him, the same logo over and over. DedSec. He really had been dreaming.

“Dreaming about me?”

Marcus jumped to his feet, swearing loudly. His heart was hammering in his chest as he turned around to find Wrench leaning over the back of the couch with carets displayed on his mask. “What the fuck, man!” How could Wrench have known?

“Wrench, leave the man alone,” the purple haired woman from earlier said. Marcus barely recalled her name, Sitara?

“What? You guys won’t let me in. It’s boring as hell around here sometimes. I needed action,” Wrench replied. He sent a winking face at Marcus as he walked away and Marcus wasn’t entirely sure what way Wrench meant it.

“Ignore him,” Sitara said, sitting down on the couch. She patted the free space beside her. “I think you and I should talk.”

He dropped down beside her. She seemed a lot more rational than Wrench, maybe he could get answers from her. “How long was I out?”

“Only a couple hours,” she replied. “You went through a lot from what I’ve heard. Exhaustion must have gotten you. We let you rest up.”

“Uh thanks,” Marcus replied, rubbing the back of his neck. “I put you all in danger. I could have sworn Wrench got shot.”

“Wrench’s a big boy, don’t worry about him,” she said. “I don’t think I introduced myself properly. I’m Sitara. Obviously, you met Josh and Wrench. Horatio is out right now, but he’ll be back later.”

“Marcus,” he replied. “But you already knew that.”

“Of course! We’ve had our eye on Blume for a while now. They had your name flagged which is odd because they don’t normally care about duds,” she replied.

“There’s that word again,” Marcus replied.

“Right, sorry. I mean… Blume has ulterior motives, which I am sure you are aware of to an extent. The problem is their surveillance isn’t for ordinary people, who we call duds. They are looking for _special_ people and we’ve been trying to stop them for ages,” Sitara said.

“I’m black, I don’t need to be special to be targeted by a surveillance company,” Marcus replied. “I knew they were looking into me. I’ve been trying to get passed their firewalls, but they are surprisingly good.”

“Well, an enemy of your enemy is your friend, right?” Sitara said with a smile. “We’ve been watching you.”

“What do you mean? Who are you?” Marcus asked. He couldn’t help but wonder what exactly he’d gotten himself into.

“We’re DedSec, fellow hackers. So far we haven’t been able to do much other than monitor Blume,” she said with a sigh. “But we’ve been watching you. Receive any helpful emails lately?”

“No—wait, that was you?” Marcus answered.

“Yes,” she replied. “Blume’s firewalls are made up of more than just code so you need more than just code to get in. We all added something to it to help it.”

“That’s why the program looked like it made no sense,” Marcus added. “They detected it as soon as I used it though.”

“I should have known,” Sitara replied, shaking her head slightly.

“Why did you send it to me? Why not just use it yourselves?”

“Because they have wards up that go crazy if we get anywhere near the place,” Wrench spoke up from an area aptly named the Wrench Bench. He turned towards them, leaning against the graffitied surface.

“Okay, what the hell are wards? You mentioned it yesterday,” Marcus asked, turning to face Wrench.

“It’s basically a surveillance system of our own in a way,” Sitara said. “They have one that senses when certain types of people cross the threshold. Ours helps keep us hidden. It’s kind of… not the easiest to explain to a dud.”

Marcus frowned, but Wrench interrupted before he could ask more.

Wrench loudly dropped his screwdriver and suddenly moved towards the steps where he leaned against the wall in front of them. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Beers here!”

Sitara shook her head. “It’s almost close to impossible for you to get drunk without help!”

“Doesn’t matter, trying counts! We could just go to the bar,” Wrench suggested.

“It’s noon, good luck with that,” Sitara replied.

“What bar doesn’t open at noon?” Marcus asked.

“One that opens at midnight,” Wrench responded, but before Marcus could ask more he heard the door at the top of the stairs open and soon a man with dreads and armfuls of pizza and beer descended the steps. Wrench quickly took the beer and retreated to his work bench.

“Thanks for the help, Wrench,” the new guy said, voice laced with sarcasm as he carefully balanced the pizza boxes.

Sitara got up and took a few of the boxes from his arms. “Marcus, this is Horatio.”

“What’s up, brother,” Horatio said, setting the boxes down.

“S’up, man,” Marcus replied, climbing to his feet. He rubbed the back of his neck again, looking around. Sitara brought a box of pizza and soda to Josh who hadn’t left his computer. Horatio was trying to get a beer from Wrench who was hoarding the case to himself. Marcus shook his head with a quiet laugh. He’d been so foolish to think of these people as anything other than normal. Maybe they were a little quirky, but there was nothing supernatural about them.

Still, Marcus head was spinning. He had a lot to figure out and he couldn’t do it here. He needed to get out and sort through all of it. What Blume was really up to? Why had they sent people after him? Why did DedSec need him? And what had he really seen the other day?

“I need to go now. It was great meeting everyone, but I… I just need to go deal with shit,” Marcus said finally.

Sitara crossed the room to Marcus’s side. “Alright. Take this, it’ll let you come back if you decide to. You’re always welcome here and we could always use the extra help.” She smiled and fished a small stone from her pocket, holding it out for Marcus to take.

It wasn’t anything special, just a small, grey pebble, but he took it anyway and pocketed it. He didn’t have the energy to question it. Especially since he wasn’t sure he’d get a straight answer anyway. “Thanks,” he said, heading for the stairs.

Part of him expected the door to open to a blank wall, but nothing was there. There was no paint puddle when he stepped out and the wall didn’t seal behind him. He really must have been exhausted yesterday because, clearly, he’d hallucinated a lot. Shaking his head, Marcus closed the door behind him and headed through the game store.

“Hey, Marcus, wait up.”

Marcus paused and turned to see Wrench jogging up to him. What he didn’t see was how Wrench had gotten his phone. “Hey!”

“Giving you my number,” Wrench mumbled as he typed in the phone. “You might not believe in the supernatural world, but it has its eyes on you now. Anything comes up, call me.” He handed the phone back.

Marcus took his phone. He didn’t know what to say. He hadn’t talked to Wrench outside of his dream. How did Wrench know he didn’t… He shook his head. He was probably just overthinking things. “Right, thanks man.”

“And don’t worry, man, I’ll keep your dream between us,” Wrench said, backing up as a winking face flashed on his mask.

Marcus wanted to protest, but Wrench had disappeared the second he opened his mouth leaving his head spinning yet again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it and there will be more soon!


	3. Chapter 3

Marcus wanted to laugh at himself. To think he was almost believing the delusional bullshit that DedSec had fed him. Whatever they were smoking, he must have gotten a contact high. A supernatural world, really? If Wrench wasn’t human, what was he? A robot? There was just no way Wrench could know what he’d dreamed about and Marcus was not going to be that gullible. He must have just talked in his sleep.

After he’d fled the odd hackers, he’d decided to walk home. He could have easily procured himself a vehicle, but he needed the fresh air to clear his head. He still couldn’t process what had happened, but at least it was daytime now. Surely no one would try anything during the day.

It hadn’t taken him long to reach his apartment. He didn’t live that far away and he was really looking forward to a long shower and collapsing into bed immediately after. He didn’t know what was worse, that he felt disgusting after all the running or exhaustion that seemed bone deep.

Marcus wasn’t paying attention when he walked out of the elevator and headed for his apartment. He didn’t notice something was off until he neared his home. He paused when he saw the door was ajar. Not by much, someone had clearly tried to close it after they’d kicked it in as if they were trying to hide the break in, but there was a clear boot print in the centre of the door and the lock was obviously broken.

He reached for his stun gun, ironically named 2EZ, and neared the door. He pulled it out the second his fingers curled around the handle and aimed it straight ahead as he took a hold of the door knob with his free hand. Quietly, he slowly pushed it open. He strained his ears, listening. He hadn’t even noticed he was holding his breath as he moved inside.

“Find anything yet?” a male voice drifted form his bedroom.

“No,” a woman replied and Marcus guessed she was in the kitchen. “He must have gone with the freaks if he hasn’t been back yet.”

“We need to figure out what he’s looking for,” the gruff voice replied. “And what he knows about the freaks.”

“You don’t think he’s one of them?” the woman shouted back. “I hear one of them knows voodoo. I don’t see how playing with dolls is threatening.”

“That’s because you’re paid to fight, not understand,” the man responded. “Voodoo isn’t about dolls, don’t underestimate our enemy.”

Voodoo? Marcus scowled. He had to be missing something. What the hell were these people doing in his home? And what were they looking for? He didn’t have time to worry about that now.

Marcus held his breath as he moved down the hall carefully, gun still firmly gripped in his hand. The kitchen was first. There was a large opening in the wall that he’d turned into a bar. The kitchen was on the other side and he pressed his back firmly against the wall beside the opening, listening.

The woman was rummaging through his drawers at first, upending silverware and various cooking utensils before she turned away. He could hear cupboards opening, pans clattering to the floor. Then he heard the freezer open and that was his queue. The freezer was directly across from the opening. He jumped out and pulled the trigger. The needles hit her in the back and she convulsed before collapsing to the floor.

Once she was out, he released the charge and rapidly prepared it for another. He moved through the livingroom next and headed for his bedroom on the far side. He pressed himself against the wall beside the door and decided to put away 2EZ in favour of using his Thunder Ball. He waited quietly, but luckily, he didn’t have to wait long.

“There is nothing here. Maybe he isn’t a freak,” the man said, walking out of the room.

Marcus moved fast. He threw the cord around the other man’s thick neck and pulled tight, but he hadn’t expected the strength of the other. The guy quickly countered Marcus’s weight and flipped Marcus over his shoulder.

Marcus hit the ground hard, flat on his back. The Thunder Ball went flying across the carpeted floor. His breath was knocked out of him, but he recovered quick. He didn’t have time to dwell as he yanked 2EZ back out and fired at the man. The needles hit the guy in the stomach, but they did the job. The man convulsed and fell forward. Marcus had just enough time to roll out of the way onto his stomach before the guy could land on top of him. The other man hit the ground with a heavy thud beside him.

“Fuck!” Marcus shouted, laying there for a minute. He needed to catch his breath. His heart was slamming against his chest as the gravity of the situation sank in. Thugs chasing him down the street? Not ideal, but whatever. Thugs finding out where he lived and breaking in? Shit had gotten too real too fast now and he had no idea what to do. He knew one thing for sure, he couldn’t call the cops. He’d be the one arrested. Who knew what kind of lies Blume had on him if the intruders were indeed working for Blume.

He rolled onto his back and rubbed his face unable to help but wonder what mess he’d gotten himself into. He took precautions on hiding himself, he wasn’t an amateur hacker. How had these guys found him? He had no clue, but he needed to do something about them fast, but what?

Wrench.

Wrench had given him his number. If he couldn’t call the cops, maybe DedSec could help him. They seemed to know a lot even if they made no sense. What had Sitara said? An enemy of your enemy was your friend, or something along those lines.

He quickly scrambled to his feet and tugged his phone out of his pocket. His fingers moved quickly as he shot a text at the masked hacker. Wrench might be odd, but how could anything get any worse? He needed help.

 

***

 

Marcus had tied the two up by the time Wrench had arrived. It was already dark out. He’d had to tase them again just to make sure they stayed quiet, but he’d managed to get the intruders into two chairs and tied them up with the only thing he had, his bed sheets. It wasn’t perfect, but it did the job. He was pacing the livingroom when Wrench arrived.

The masked man whistled when he walked in. “Damn man, nice place.”

“Took you long enough,” Marcus replied, barely registering the compliment.

“You look like you took care of them well enough on your own,” Wrench said, ignoring the comment. “You must have just missed me.”

Marcus snorted.

“Relax,” Wrench replied, throwing his tattooed hands up in front of his chest in a gesture of surrender. “We have a safe house you can stay at while we clear this up. Did you get anything out of them?”

“No, but they were looking for something,” Marcus replied.

“Any clue what?”

“They don’t look like the people who were after me yesterday.” Marcus rubbed his neck. “If it’s Blume, maybe they were looking for what I got from their system.”

“You got something out of Blume?” Wrench queried, question marks flashed on his mask briefly.

Marcus hesitated. He hadn’t really gotten anything _yet_ , but he had installed a backdoor into their system. All he had to do now was walk right through, but was he ready to tell DedSec that? He wasn’t entirely sure he could trust them. He barely knew them. Then again, Wrench did save his life and he’d shown up yet again to help Marcus. It couldn’t hurt to have an ally.

“Did you?” Wrench pressed with question marks for eyes again.

“I have nothing for them to find,” Marcus answered. It was the truth, but not the whole truth. He wanted to know what Blume was up to and if DedSec could help, maybe he should try, but right now he had other issues to attend to.

“Maybe they are looking for evidence that you aren’t a dud,” the masked man said. “Either way, go pack some shit. It’s probably better to be in the safe house until we sort this shit out. I’ll watch these two. Maybe I can get something out of them.”

“They’re unconscious…”

“Perfect,” Wrench said, turning towards the two intruders.

Marcus shook his head. He just wanted to know what the hell was going on. If Wrench’s group knew anything, maybe it was time he played along to their ridiculousness. It was one thing being chased down the street, but when someone broke into his apartment… he needed to figure out what the hell was going on.

He disappeared into the bedroom and started to pack. It wasn’t hard. There wasn’t much he needed. Clothing mostly, anything else he could pick up from a store. He shook his head. He didn’t like running, but he didn’t like the thought of people breaking in either.

Marcus walked back to the livingroom, his newly packed bag slung over his shoulder. He pushed his phone into his pocket as he looked up at Wrench whose back was to him. He couldn’t see Wrench’s face, but Wrench’s mask was off, clasped in his hand at his side. Even when Wrench’s head turned sightly, Marcus couldn’t see anything past his hood.

Wrench lifted his hand, bringing his mask back to his face before he turned to look at Marcus. The mask took a moment to recalibrate before landing on the default X’s. “Ready?”

“Why do you wear that?” Marcus asked.

Wrench shrugged casually. “I have self-control issues,” he replied nonchalantly and he didn’t offer to explain it any further. “If you have anything valuable you might want to take it. We’ll have to leave these two here.”

“Why the fuck would I leave them in my apartment?” Marcus asked.

“Because I lack the ability to cloak myself like my friends,” Wrench said. “Unless you want to carry them out in public.”

“I’m not even going to ask,” Marcus replied. He wanted to protest, but he knew Wrench was right. They couldn’t risk drawing attention to themselves. “I have everything that’s not replaceable and I don’t think they were looking for action figures.”

Wrench chuckled. “Got anything good?”

“Of course, who do you take me for?” Marcus replied, allowing a small grin to grace his freatures. “But we can trade figures later, let’s get the fuck out of here.” He grabbed his Thunder Ball from the floor and put it away before he headed for the hallway.

“Marcus,” Wrench said as he reached out and caught Marcus’s arm. “Listen, man. I know I’m annoying as fuck and none of this makes sense right now, but I promise you. I will keep you safe.”

Marcus found it a little odd he couldn’t judge Wrench’s facial expressions, but somehow the tone of Wrench’s voice was enough for Marcus to believe him even if it was synthetic. He relaxed a little. “I don’t need to be protected. I need to know what the hell is going on.”

“You know nearly as much as we do,” Wrench responded, releasing Marcus’s arm. “Blume is after people like us. I don’t know why they are going after you, but they are rounding up my people, making them disappear if you catch my drift. We have been trying to do something about it, but so far all we have been able to do is get you caught up in it.”

“No, it wasn’t you,” Marcus started. He rubbed the back of his neck. He still wasn’t sure he could trust DedSec, but for what it was worth, Wrench did seem like he was being sincere even if he didn’t understand the tattooed man’s antics. He needed help, but maybe they could help each other. “Man, why didn’t you guys just ask for help?”

“Would you have said yes?” Wrench asked.

“Maybe if I knew the truth,” Marcus replied.

“If you keep an open mind, the truth will find you soon enough. Your world is seriously about to change, man,” Wrench said. “Come on, let’s get the hell out of here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! More soon. Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

_“What are you?”_

_Marcus was watching Wrench from his bed. He was sat up, back against the headboard with one leg drawn up onto the bed. The other was carelessly hanging over the edge, his foot just brushing the floor._

_Wrench stood in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest. “I thought you didn’t believe?” he said. His mask was blank._

_“I don’t, but you do,” Marcus replied. “So I’m interested.”_

_Wrench moved into the room, nearing the bed. His movements were slow, deliberately so. “What do you want me to be?”_

_Marcus’s head tilted slightly, looking up at Wrench, watching him. “Deflecting?”_

_“No, this is deflecting.” Wrench’s hand moved up Marcus’s leg, fingers starting at the ankle and slowly moving up. The digits brushed lightly over the fabric and came to a stop on the other’s knee. He slid a knee onto the bed, kneeling in between Marcus’s legs as he leaned in close._

_Marcus didn’t say a word, didn’t move an inch either. He was staring into Wrench’s eyes, or at least where he assumed Wrench’s eyes were. The punk’s mask was still blank. He couldn’t read what the other was thinking, but he was too entranced to care._

_Wrench leaned his face in close despite the mask between them. His hand slid further up Marcus’s thigh while his free hand rest against the headboard beside Marcus’s head. “You really want to know?” His fingers pushed their way under Marcus’s shirt, running over Marcus’s stomach._

_Marcus exhaled slowly through his nose. He couldn’t take his eyes off Wrench’s mask and he couldn’t deny that he liked the attention either. His heart beat picked up. “You’re going to have to take your mask off if you think this is going to go any further.”_

_“You want it to go further?” Wrench asked, his synthetic voice was unusually quiet. His head tilted slightly as if he was going to kiss Marcus despite the spikes between them._

_“Maybe,” Marcus answered, though he couldn’t hide the disappointment when he felt Wrench’s hand retracting from his shirt._

_“Take my mask off,” Wrench said, resting his hand on Marcus’s thigh._

_Marcus hesitated, not sure if Wrench meant it. He lifted his hands slowly, fingers moving to the sides of the mask and he felt it give. He had no idea what had been holding it in place. He paused, waiting for Wrench to stop him, but when the other man remained still, he continued. He slowly began lowering it._

_He didn’t know what he expected or why he was going so slow. Maybe he expected Wrench to pull away. Or maybe he was slightly starting to believe Wrench was something else, but his hands instantly stilled the second he revealed revealed Wrench’s blue eyes._

_Wrench was staring back, looking straight into Marcus’s eyes. He made no move to stop Marcus, didn’t need to._

_Marcus had stopped on his own, transfixed. He didn’t know what he had expected. Demon eyes? Wrench was normal, normal blue eyes. He started to move again when Wrench’s eyes suddenly changed._

_The pupils blew wide, swallowing the blue rapidly before shrinking back just as quick only this time Wrench’s eyes were no longer blue. They’d become silver._

 

Marcus sat up fast only to become tangled in the sheets. He hadn’t realised how close to the edge of the bed he’d been until it was too late. He fell to the ground with a hard thud and a groan. “Fuck!”

He pushed himself up slowly, cringing at the new twinge in his back. He unravelled himself from the sheets and climbed to his feet, shaking his head. He really must have been going crazy. Dreaming about Wrench, again, seriously? Had it really been that long since he got laid?

He rubbed his face vigorously before putting on his glasses. His heart was still racing, but he willed himself to calm down. Falling out of bed shouldn’t be better cardio than jogging up the street.  He shook his head again and pulled on a pair of sweats before checking his phone.

6AM.

Perfect. Four hours of sleep. Why did he have to wake up so early? With a groan, he headed for the door. If he was lucky, maybe there would be coffee in the kitchen.

Wrench had been true to his word. DedSec had lent him a small house, supposedly it was their safe house. It had been empty when he’d arrived, but someone had been kind enough to stock it while he’d been in the shower. Coffee definitely was not in short supply.

He moved out of the room and down the hall, heading into the kitchen. Luckily the place seemed quiet. It was too early to deal with supernatural whatever it was. He needed coffee in him first. The smell of it brewing was already enough to put him in a better mood. Someone had conveniently started a pot and he stood in front of it, rolling the ceramic mug in his hands as he waited impatiently.

“You’re up early.”

Marcus jumped out of his skin, dropping the mug loudly against the counter. He was lucky it didn’t break, but his heart was racing again regardless. How had he not heard Wrench come in behind him?

“Bad dream?” Wrench inquired, moving into the kitchen. He jumped up onto the counter. There was a brief winking face on his mask before it cycled back to the default X’s.

Marcus got the feeling Wrench already knew that answer. “Yeah, an asshole wouldn’t let me sleep.”

Wrench chuckled as he jumped down and headed out of the room. “You should invite me into your dreams more often,” he said over his shoulder. “By the way, Sitara is here to see you!”

Marcus nearly dropped the coffee pot. Invite Wrench into his dream? That was the second time Wrench seem to know what he was dreaming about. Was Wrench watching him sleep…? Still, now he was really curious as to what was under Wrench’s mask.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on it. Wrench had mentioned Sitara was there and he wasn’t even dressed properly. He set the empty mug back down with a sigh and retreated back to the bedroom to find clothes.

 

***

  
Half an hour later and he was on his way to a cafe for some much-needed caffeine with Sitara. As crazy as the last couple of days had been, it was nice to be out doing something normal.

“What’s the deal with Wrench?” Marcus asked.

“Wrench can be a handful, but he generally means well once you gain his trust,” Sitara said. “Though he seems to have already taken a liking to you.”

“Is that a hard thing to do?” Marcus asked. He hadn’t done anything to garner Wrench’s trust. Then again he had to admit he found himself trusting Wrench too if only a little. Despite the other’s odd antics, Wrench had saved his life. And helped him out without a moments hesitation when Marcus had had two people tied up in his apartment.

Sitara laughed. “Quite, most of the time he’s violence first, questions later. Can’t fault him for it through, we lead dangerous lives and he’s been through a lot.”

“You said you’re all hackers?”

“Yes, and Wrench is a hell of an engineer too. He’s also our strength,” Sitara said, “he goes out and gets shit done when we can’t do it. He’s fiercely loyal too, despite what he is. He’s like a little brother to me even though he’s older than us all…”

“What about you?” Marcus asked as Sitara led him into the coffee shop.

“Me? I’m the face of DedSec. Without me, no one would know who we are,” she said. “We need people to find us so we can get them to safety.”

Marcus wanted to tell her, he hadn’t heard of her before, but he kept quiet as she ordered her coffee. Was Blume really that dangerous? He shook off the question and ordered after her and went to pay, but Sitara had insisted she pay. They quickly found themselves a secluded table towards the back of the shop.

“I’m not entirely sure why Blume was targeting you initially,” Sitara said. “Like I’ve said, their public face is just to hide what’s really going on, they don’t generally care about the security of anyone least of all my people.”

Marcus shrugged. “I take steps to protect myself. I have no fucking clue how they found me, I’m careful to use an alias. But I know the risks associated with hacking.”

“Retr0,” she said, smiling. “Quite impressive stuff, we’ve seen what you’ve done around the city. With Blume targeting you, we just assumed you knew of our existence.”

“I guess I wasn’t as good at hiding as I thought since you heard of me too,” he replied, pausing to take a sip of his coffee. “But I’ve generally kept to myself.”

“Well, maybe you have heard of one of us, Josh aka Hawt Sauce,” Sitara said.

“Wait, _the_ Hawt Sauce. No shit, I loved his Frat House hack,” Marcus responded as he leaned back against the chair. “That was the Josh that I met?”

“Yes. That was how we found him,” Sitara said, smiling again. “But don’t sell yourself short. We had to jump through hoops to find you. So did Blume. I suppose you can call how we found you cheating if you will.”

Marcus closed his eyes for a moment. This was all too much. He knew they were hiding something from him and it didn’t matter what they believed anymore. This was serious. He needed to know what he was getting himself into. He looked back at her, the coffee was clasped nervously in his hand. “Okay, I’m not saying I believe you, but considering I was shot at and had my place broken into... What the hell is going on?”

“The truth?” Sitara said. “I wouldn’t believe it either if I wasn’t living it.” Her eyes drifted up front, checking to see if anyone was looking. “The only way you’re going to believe me is if I show you.” She grabbed the dying potted plant that had been sitting as a decoration on the table and drew it towards her. She lifted her hands loosely around the plant and looked around nervously.

Marcus watched her curiously and felt himself frowning, but the plant suddenly began to grow before his eyes. The dry, dead leaves began to swell as green moved through them, chasing away the brown until all that was left was a healthy looking leaf. Life spread up the plant, chasing away any sickness until a bright red flower bloomed right in front of Marcus. He didn’t know what to say. His jaw had fallen open.

“Wrench told me what he told you. The supernatural world does exist,” she said. Her hands rest back on the table. “Blume knows and they are hunting us. Our world has operated in secret to avoid problems like this, but nationwide surveillance kind of makes it hard to hide. DedSec is our way of fighting back.”

“Why? How…?”

“Some bullshit that we’re a danger to society,” she said. “It doesn’t matter. Blume’s killing people. That’s why we reached out to you. We thought you could help.”

Marcus’s mind was racing. He couldn’t process it all. “About the program you sent me, how did it work exactly?”

“To get into Blume’s security, you needed to get past their wards. In this case, they are spelled coding. It’s more than just a firewall. Our program allowed you to bypass them, it tore down the wall, but unfortunately alerted Blume to the intrusion immediately,” Sitara said. “That’s why they went after you.”

“Can I… I just need to think,” Marcus said. He couldn’t deny what he’d seen. Now he knew he hadn’t been hallucinating when Josh had opened the door. Or that Wrench could have actually been shot. And his dreams… He needed to get out of there.

“Of course,” Sitara said, pushing the plant away. “You know where to find us.”

Marcus got to his feet, he needed to think. So much he’d known of the world had just changed. There was so much more to it, but his brain was still trying to rationalise what he’d just saw and what it all meant for him.

“Yeah, I’ll talk to you later,” he mumbled as he hurried out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter down. Poor Marcus. I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!!


	5. Chapter 5

Marcus took his glasses off as he heavily rubbed his eyes with his free hand. He didn’t know what to do. He’d left Sitara that morning to clear his head, but things had only gotten more complicated. He didn’t know how late it had gotten, late enough for the sun to begin setting. He’d wandered most of the day until he eventually found himself in the park.

He put his glasses back on with a heavy sigh.

He’d spent his entire life believing one thing, believing there was one world and that humans were the top of the kingdom only to have that ruined in a few short days. There was an entirely hidden world that had always been there right under his nose. He just couldn’t see it until now. Now he was wondering how many of the people he’d ever run into could have been just like Sitara. It had been like seeing the world through new eyes, everything looked strange to him. He couldn’t tell what was supernatural or if his brain was just playing tricks on him.

Of course, this all meant Blume was really up to some shady shit, but they wouldn’t be killing people, could they? That had shot at him and sent people to break into his apartment. He needed to know what they were up to, but was he ever going to be safe again?

Marcus shoved his hands into his pockets only to find something pressing against his right hand. He pulled his hand back to find the pebble he’d forgotten all about. The one Sitara had given him the first time they’d met. He couldn’t recall transferring it from his old pants, but there it was.

He took his time to examine it, rolling it slowly in his hands. It seemed like an ordinary stone, small and grey. There were no extraordinary characteristics about it, but why would Sitara give him a boring old stone?

“Careful with that.”

Marcus jumped, his hand closed instantly around the rock as his head snapped up. “The fuck, man. Give me a heart attack, why don’t you?”

Wrench’s mask flashed carets in Marcus’s direction. He stood a little ways away, arms crossed over his chest.

“It’s not just a rock, is it?” Marcus asked, opening his hand to look at the pebble again.

“Nope, that will get you past our wards. It’s spelled. If anyone gets their hands on it, we could be in serious trouble,” Wrench said. “No pressure or anything.”

“She trusted me with it?” Marcus said, finally looking up from the rock.

“Not everyone thought we should be leery of you, sorry about that by the way. Sitara is a great judge of character,” Wrench said, waiting as Marcus pocketed the pebble.

“How did you find me anyway?” Marcus said, sitting back on the bench. He looked up at the punk, watching him.

Wrench dropped down onto the bench beside him. “Sitara tracked you with that pebble, she was worried.”

Marcus chuckled, shaking his head. “Of course, it can be tracked.”

“Hey… Marcus, I don’t know how much she told you,” Wrench began, suddenly sounding uneasy. He reached into his hood to rub his neck, a nervous habit. “Despite human fiction, not everyone is a monster. Hell, half the time humans are more monstrous than us. Look at those fucks at Blume.”

Marcus looked over. “I don’t think anyone is. It’s just a lot to wrap my head around.”

“Understandable,” Wrench said. “Anyway, I hope you’re up for a fight.”

“What?”

“I probably should have started with ‘hey man, you’re being followed!’” Wrench answered with carets for eyes on his mask once again. He quickly got to his feet. “There are at least three of them,” he said quietly. “If there are more, I can’t sense them from here. As soon as the sunsets, they’ll attack. The parks supposed to be closed then. We need to get away from here now, somewhere public. Follow me.”

Marcus jumped to his feet. “Why did you wait until now to tell me?” he shot back, his hand flying to his stun gun, but Wrench stopped him quick, grabbing his wrists.

“Don’t alert them yet,” Wrench said. “C’mon.” He started walking back towards the street, heading for the brightly lit businesses across from the park.

Marcus followed close at his side. His hand itched for his stung gun, but he took Wrench’s advice. He tried to focus on Wrench rather than the burning desire to look over his shoulder. “Are they following?”

“Yes,” Wrench replied.

“I need a beer,” Marcus mumbled.

“Right after this,” Wrench said with a laugh. He ducked into an alley with a dead end on the other side. “You know how to fight, but get behind me and get ready. There is a fourth one now.”

“What? I thought we were going to get away,” Marcus said, tugging out his stun gun as Wrench leaned casually back against the wall, waiting. “If you’re messing with me…”

“In three… two… one—” Wrench had started to count down and as if on queue four men moved into the mouth of the alley.

Marcus watched as one of the men pulled out a knife and he reacted instantly. He took aim and pulled the trigger, catching the closest guy off guard. The man fell, but one of his friends responded instantly, throwing a knife at Marcus’s hands.

2EZ went flying from Marcus’s grip. He was lucky it hadn’t hit any of his fingers, but he didn’t have time to react, the thrower charged towards him. He’d had just enough time to partially block a punch to his stomach, not expecting the man’s strength. The breath was knocked out of him.

Dazed, all Marcus could do was block the blows. He was driven back by his attacker, barely having time to defend himself. The distance between himself and the wall was growing smaller. He had to do something.

“What the fuck do you want!” Marcus shouted, anger building in him. He’d had enough. Enough of people shooting him, enough of people playing with his head and breaking into his apartment. Enough of people stalking him.

“You shouldn’t have went snooping around Blume,” the attacker sneered, throwing a punch at Marcus’s head.

Marcus ducked and swung at the man’s stomach. He wished he had time to grab his thunder ball, but the attacker was relentless. At least now he could confirm Blume was behind it. He caught a glance over the man’s shoulder. Wrench was handling the other two.

Wrench dodged, but it was a little too late. Even for his exceptional speed and strength, fighting two people was harder than it looked. He dodged one punch only for the second to graze the side of his face sending his mask flying to the ground. The first attacker recovered quick and drove a blade deep into Wrench’s chest before the punk could recuperate from the loss of his mask.

“Wrench!” Marcus shouted, panic flooding through him. The punk’s back was to him, but he saw Wrench double over with a growling curse, voice no longer synthetic. The moment of distraction almost cost Marcus a blow to the head. He spun just in time to block another of his attacker’s punches and countered with an uppercut to the man’s jaw.

The assaulter’s teeth clattered loudly from the force of the punch, but Marcus didn’t stop there. He was worried about Wrench, but he had to stop his attacker first. Before the man could recover, Marcus leapt into a roll, snatching his stun gun from the ground where it had fallen. He aimed it at the man and pulled the trigger.

The attacker convulsed as the electrical current passed through him and crumbled to the ground like a sack of bricks. Marcus wasted no time in releasing the charges and turned back to rush to Wrench’s aid.

Wrench stumbled back, but he was laughing which had shocked his attackers, and Marcus, into momentary hesitation. His fingers curled around the handle of the blade and he yanked the knife from his chest with a grunt. “You missed.”

“Get him!” the shorter man said, rushing forward, but Wrench was faster. He threw the blade blindingly fast, burying it into the man’s stomach. The guy dropped to his knees, a look of shock still evident on his face as he slumped forward.

The remaining man was dumbfounded. The moment of surprise made him slow. He stumbled forward, but Wrench had already moved so fast Marcus’s eyes couldn’t keep up. The punk was suddenly behind his attacker, face hidden in shadows.

Wrench grabbed the man, one arm tight around the guy’s waist while the other locked in his attacker’s hair. He pulled hard, burying his face into the man’s newly exposed neck.

“What the fuck, Wrench!” Marcus shouted, eyes growing large as he suddenly found his voice. He stumbled back as he realised what was happening, only to trip over the leg of his attacker. He fell down hard on his ass, unable to tear his eyes off of Wrench. “Oh, fuck…”

After a few moments, what felt like hours to Marcus, Wrench suddenly tore himself away, shoving the man away from him as if he’d only just realised what he’d done. The guy fell hard and Marcus wasn’t sure if the man was even still alive. Wrench turned, keeping his face hidden. “Marcus… Marcus are you alright?”

“Me?! You just got stabbed,” Marcus started, watching as Wrench retrieved his mask. The punk was trying hard to keep his face hidden. “Is he… are they…?”

“Alive?” Wrench responded, finishing Marcus’s question. He stood up straight, looking down at his mask, hood hiding his face. “Barely, but I made sure not to kill them. Even if the assholes deserve it. Did Sitara… did she tell you?”

“What are you?” Marcus asked, his dream suddenly coming back to him. He ignored Wrench’s question.

“You know, don’t you?” Wrench replied. He still hadn’t put the mask back on, but he hadn’t shown his face yet either.

“What _are_ you?” Marcus repeated. He finally climbed back to his feet, his eyes not leaving Wrench. “Fucking look at me. What the hell are you?”

Wrench hesitated before finally looking up. The street lights reflected off the silver of his eyes, the same silver they’d been in Marcus’s dream, but that wasn’t the only thing that had drawn Marcus’s attention. He’d forgotten all about the stabbing when he saw the red tinge on Wrench’s pale lips, blood. In fact, it was the only blood he saw at all as if Wrench never had been stabbed.

The punk hacker ran his tongue slowly over his lip, drawing the blood away before he promptly put the mask back on. It took a moment to recalibrate, different expressions cycling through rapidly before it went blank.

Marcus didn’t know what to say, but it seemed neither did Wrench. They both stood there, each watching the other. Marcus was lost in his thoughts, too shocked to make any rational decision while Wrench waited patiently, afraid of how Marcus would react.

“How… how is any of this possible?” Marcus finally spoke, breaking the tense silence. He’d seen first hand what Sitara had been able to do. He’d also saw what Wrench was capable of, speed, strength, the capability to heal. His brain tried desperately to rationalise it, but there wasn’t a rational answer. “You… aren’t human…”

Wrench’s mask remained blank. He stood still. “Guess not,” he replied, his synthetic voice had returned, but it was quiet. “Your heart is still racing, I can hear it. I won’t hurt you.”

“Vampire,” Marcus said, but it wasn’t a question.

“But it’s not like those cheesy horror movies,” Wrench said, trying to defend himself. “I’m not a monster. I mean… I don’t think so…”

“And your mask…” Marcus started.

“Keeps me from suddenly sprouting fangs and silver eyes in public,” Wrench replied as if it was an ordinary situation, but then again Marcus knew it was ordinary for Wrench. “Every time I smell the faintest hint of blood or…” He suddenly cleared his throat. “Never mind we need to call 911 and then get the fuck out of here.”

“They are really still alive?” Marcus’s gaze finally dropped to the men at Wrench’s feet. He felt like he was going to pass out again so he sagged heavily against the wall beside him.

“Yes,” Wrench reassured. “I can hear their hearts beating, faint, but they are there.” He pulled his phone out and proceeded to make a call.

Marcus was frozen in place. Part of him wanted to run, but he knew now there was no escaping this. He was in over his head, but DedSec had been the only ones to try and help him. At least they weren’t trying to kill him. He needed their help. He needed to understand.

Wrench ended his call abruptly with emergency services once they had the address. He looked up at Marcus. “We need to go. Are you going to be alright, man?”

“I need a beer or ten,” Marcus mumbled. “Just tell me one thing…”

“What?”

“You don’t sparkle in the sunlight, do you?” It was a poor attempt at humour, especially for how freaked out Marcus was, but Wrench howled with laughter and it relaxed Marcus a little.

“Man, fuck you. Let’s go get that beer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter five already! I hope you enjoyed it. Someone should really tell Wrench he doesn't need to block weapons with his body, damn. Thanks for reading! More soon.


	6. Chapter 6

(I have no claim over the characters, only the plot.)

“I have to ask,” Marcus said, “what’s with the dreams?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Wrench replied.

Marcus snorted. “C’mon, man, cut the shit. Can you control my dreams?”

“No, I can’t control them,” Wrench said, pausing briefly. “But I can enter them! Can’t do much unless you want it though. Your need to see my face allowed for it. I have no idea how it works exactly. Sitara knows more about all our species than me. I just know how to do it.”

Marcus was frowning as they walked into the game shop, the front for DedSec’s operations, but he wasn’t really upset. More embarrassed. He’d actually dreamed about Wrench? Though he supposed he should just be happy that he wasn’t having nightmares after the last couple days.

“Relax,” Wrench said, catching Marcus frown, “dreaming about me doesn’t make you gay.” He directed a winking face at the other.

“Man, don’t flatter yourself, but I am bi,” Marcus replied.

Exclamation marks lit up Wrench’s mask briefly. “So you were dreaming about me!”

Marcus snorted again. They headed to the back of the store and Marcus got the unnerving feeling that none of the people even noticed them again. When they reached the back, Marcus was a little disappoint to see the door was visible, but Wrench hurriedly pushed in a code and slipped inside, Marcus close on his heels.

“So, are you really immortal? How old are you?” Marcus asked, following Wrench down the stairs.

 “I can live forever, but I can be killed,” Wrench responded, “I’m young, I was born in 1924.”

“Young?! What about garlic?” Marcus asked as they moved further into the room.

“What about it? It stinks, but why would it stop me?”

“Holy water?”

“Myth.”

“So I’m guessing that goes for crosses too?”

“Maybe, if you stabbed me with it, but it’d have to be sharp. I’ll only die if my hearts destroyed.” Wrench’s hands overdramatically gestured the act as he spoke, fake stabbing himself in his chest. His mask cycled from exclamation marks to O’s before settling back on X’s.

Marcus laughed. “So you heal from anything else?”

Exclamation marks appeared on the mask again. “Want to see?”

“No!” Sitara interrupted as Wrench reached for his screw driver. “Wrench, I have a bone to pick with you.” She dragged the protesting vampire away.

Knowing what he now knew, Marcus felt strange standing in the hackerspace as Sitara had affectionately called it. Everything seemed rather ordinary, but the people were not. The possibilities of what any one of them could do was limitless in his mind, but there was him, ordinary Marcus. What did they need him for? Sure he could hack and he was pretty good in a fight, but he was human.

“Wrench, you killed a guy in front of him!” Sitara said, drawing Marcus’s attention from his thoughts. She was glaring daggers at Wrench.

“None of them are dead, the ambulance got to them,” Wrench flippantly responded.

“You _fed_ on one!”

“Again, he’s alive. The fucker stabbed me, I had every right.”

“What if you lost control? And Marcus saw all of this!” Sitara countered.

“Sitara, it’s okay,” Marcus said, interrupting. “It was the wakeup call I needed. Those men would have killed me if Wrench hadn’t said anything. I don’t know why any of this shits happening, but Blume has a lot to answer for. Whatever you’re doing, I’m in.”

Sitara smiled. “I’m glad you’ll join us.”

“Welcome to DedSec, brother,” Horatio said. He’d been watching the two argue, but now he moved towards Marcus and they high fived, hands clasping together as they closed into a hug.

Marcus was hit with a wave of normality all over again as he hugged Horatio back. He couldn’t help, but wonder what the others were. Wrench was the only one he knew for certain, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. It didn’t matter, they acted human.

After the confrontation earlier, Marcus knew Sitara had been right. Blume was dangerous and whatever they were up to, he knew he had to do something.

“I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of Blume to last a life time. I say we tear down the fucking wall. Show the world what they’re really up to,” Marcus said.

“We have to be careful, can’t expose our world in the process,” Sitara responded, “but we have to do something.”

“I can reinforce our coding, improve the program we gave Marcus,” Josh said.

“No need,” Marcus replied. “I’ve installed a backdoor so all we’ve got to do is walk right through.”

Wrench’s mask lip up, two O’s as he looked at the other’s.

“You did what?” Horatio asked.

“He installed a backdoor so we can walk right through,” Josh repeated.

Wrench suddenly invaded Marcus’s space, enveloping the human in an obnoxious hug. “Well fuck, time to go celebrate,” Wrench announced loudly, turning away from Marcus. “Drinks on me!”

“Is that a wise idea, taking a human to Ambrosia? Especially with hunters after him,” Sitara said.

“Fuck it, a night of fun won’t hurt anyone!” Wrench announced, headed for the stairs.

“Wrench has got a point. We should celebrate the small victories,” Horatio added, following after Wrench with Josh in tow. “Yo, Wrench wait up.”

Sitara laughed, hooking her arm through Marcus’s. “Alright, let’s go.”

 

***

 

“You might want to take out that stone,” Wrench suggested as the group turned a corner and headed down an alley, all of them following the vampire.

“And stay close to us,” Sitara added.

“Relax, Si, I’ve got his back,” Wrench replied.

“Not reassuring when you can actually drink here,” she replied.

“Ignore them,” Horatio added as the group came to a stop. “You’ll be fine.” He moved forward and promptly disappeared into thin air. Sitara and Wrench followed immediately after, vanishing before Marcus’s eyes.

Josh waited at Marcus’s side. “The stone.”

Marcus reached into his pocket where he’d kept the small pebble and pulled it out. When he looked back up, the space before him seemed to shimmer. He squinted, it felt like his eyes couldn’t focus when the shimmer began to grow solid like a mirage appearing before him.

What had once been an alley was now a brick wall with a single red door and a neon sign above it that read _Ambrosia_ in matching red letters.

“It’s an illusion, a spell that keeps humans from wandering in. If anyone walks down here, they’ll be transported safely to the other side,” Josh said, opening the door for Marcus.

Marcus was in awe, but he couldn’t hide the disappointment on his face when he stepped inside. It was a normal dimly lit bar. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but this wasn’t it. Booths lined the walls with tables scattered about. There was a dance floor towards the back and billiard tables on the opposite side, but the bar was the real attraction.

Set straight back from the door was a wooden bar and behind which was a mirrored wall full of lighted shelves. Each one stocked with various bottles of liqueurs Marcus knew and recognized and other odd bottles he did not.

“To the bar!” Wrench announced, taking Marcus’s wrist. He tugged the startled man away from the door. He wasted no time in ordering as soon as they reached the counter, his hand slapping down on the smooth surface. “I’ll have a beer with hemlock and just a beer for my friend here.”

“With hemlock?” Marcus asked, taking a seat on one of the barstools.

“You brought a human…” the bartender grumbled, looking Marcus over with weary eyes. He looked normal enough until Marcus saw the raven feathers threaded amongst the man’s short, black hair. He turned his dull, yellow eyes towards Wrench.

“He’s mine, he won’t bother anyone,” Wrench replied.

“Yours?” Marcus questioned, but it went ignored.

The bartender shrugged. “Whatever, half blood.” He turned away to retrieve their drinks.

Marcus shot a questioning glance at Wrench, and the vampire shrugged.

“I was human once, I wasn’t born into this world. Blood turned me. Some people don’t accept my kind,” Wrench said, waving his hand dismissively as he spoke. “Too much humanity in us for them and too much demon in us for the humans.”

The bartender returned, setting their drinks heavily down on the counter. Marcus reached for his beer, eyeing the bartender as the man poured what looked like cloudy water into Wrench’s beer. He mixed it and slid it over to Wrench.

“What did you just order?” Marcus questioned.

“The best part about this bar is the amount of shit you can order. Water Hemlock root extract,” Wrench answered, grabbing the glass. “This shits fucking toxic, it’s great.”

“Wait, what?!”

“I think you’ve realised I heal pretty quick. I can’t get drunk without a stronger additive in the drinks,” Wrench replied. “It’s harmless. Really. Well to me. My liver can’t burn the alcohol as fast when it’s distracted with poison.”

“Watch it, Wrench gets quite handsy when he’s drunk,” Sitara added, joining them at the bar which prompted Wrench to direct a winking face at Marcus.

 

Soon the drinks were piling up. Wrench had kept them coming and Marcus wasn’t sure how much time had passed, didn’t care. He was enjoying himself, feeling much more relaxed then he had in days. He was well passed drunk and laughing loudly at something Wrench had said. He didn’t notice when his hand ended up on the vampire’s thigh or when Wrench had moved closer to him.

“Bathroom?” Marcus asked. It was a simple question, one word, but somehow he had managed to slur so badly.

“I’ll show you,” Wrench said, just as equally drunk. He stood and nearly fell in the process, but somehow, they both managed to stumble through the bar, both supporting each other when they reached the bathroom.

Marcus’s hands were on Wrench before they’d even fully made it through the door. Before his mind could catch up, he’d pushed Wrench’s hood back as they stumbled into a stall together. His lips were moving down the vampire’s neck. With alcohol coursing through his veins, he knew somewhere in his mind he shouldn’t be doing this, but he didn’t care.

Wrench’s hands had responded instantly, jumping up to pull Marcus closer by the hips. He swore loudly as the other’s teeth bit a sensitive spot on his neck and he shuddered, his head rolling to the side to expose his neck. He dropped a hand and blindly closed the stall door.

Marcus wasted no time, he pushed Wrench up against the closed door, hands drunkenly wandering under Wrench’s hoodie. Heat was already headed south, coursing through him.

Wrench’s head hit back against the door hard, his mind was racing. He knew he shouldn’t be doing this, his mind knew, but his body wasn’t listening as Marcus’s warm hands found their way under his shirt, moving over his cool skin. “Fuck.”

“Take off your mask,” Marcus said, though it was more of a question. His lips brushed over Wrench’s ear. He sucked lightly on the lobe before pulling lightly on the steel hoop he found there. His hands slid down Wrench’s sides.

“Can’t… Fuck,” Wrench mumbled. He couldn’t think straight, not with Marcus’s hands nearing the waistline of his pants. His head turned exposing his neck to the other’s lips. His hands weakly squeezed Marcus’s hips, pulling the human flush against him.

“I’ve seen your face already,” Marcus replied, his hands had dropped to Wrench’s pants, drunkenly fumbling with the button.

“I don’t have control,” Wrench said, catching Marcus’s wrists. He was sobering slightly. He knew he couldn’t do this. He was drunk, it wasn’t safe, but damn if he didn’t want Marcus.

“So bite me,” Marcus replied and Wrench’s reserve momentarily snapped.

Wrench overpowered Marcus, pinning the other against the opposite wall. One hand flew up, bracing himself against the wall beside Marcus’s head. His free hand rest on the other’s hip. He wanted Marcus, but at the last second his conscious caught up with him. “We shouldn’t do this,” he said and it took every ounce of strength to fight against his body. He could smell the alcohol on Marcus and it only aided in sobering him up.

“Why?” Marcus asked, reaching for the vampire’s mask. He was drunk, but he wanted Wrench.

“I… I want to, but… Fuck, not while we're drunk,” Wrench replied, unable to think straight. He grabbed Marcus’s wrist gently, stopping him from taking the mask off before he took a step back.

“Okay,” Marcus responded as he desperately willed his body to calm down. He leaned heavily back against the wall for support. Only then did he notice the room was spinning. Clearly he'd had a little too much to drink.

Wrench stepped aside, pulling the door back open as he grabbed Marcus's wrist. “C’mon, let’s get the fuck out of here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and as always, more soon! Hope you guys liked it. ^^


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
>  Look at this amazing work by **firecrackersweet** on tumblr. Go visit them [RIGHT HERE!](http://firecrackersweet.tumblr.com/) Because amazing!♥

_Riiiiiiing!_

Marcus groaned as his phone went off, shattering the peaceful oblivion he’d been in. He woke to a pounding headache and the phone was making it insufferably worse. With another groan, he cracked an eye open, barely enough to see as he felt around desperately for the offending device. Wanting nothing more than to silence it.

For a moment, he forgot where he was. He couldn’t remember anything towards the end of last night, or, more accurately, that morning. It had all been a drunken haze, but slowly, he opened his eyes fully, only to cringe in the harsh, bright light of the day. He found himself lying on the floor in the bedroom of the safehouse.

He was surrounded by empty beer cans. Clothes strewn about haphazardly. And was that Wrench’s vest by the door…? He closed his eyes with a groan, didn’t have time to dwell on what could have happened last night. He hadn’t even lifted his head yet, didn’t think he could, it felt so heavy.  

Once his fingers finally brushed over the cool plastic of his phone, he grabbed it clumsily and answered it with an annoyed jab of his thumb. He still hadn’t even bothered to lift his head as he pressed the cool device against his ear. “Hello?”

“Good, you’re alive,” Sitara responded on the other end of the phone. “I wasn’t sure, I was pretty smashed. Meet us at the hackerspace.”

“What time is it?” he mumbled. He knew she’d been drinking, how did she sound so chipper so early? He felt like death.

“You big baby, it’s past noon,” Sitara responded with a laugh. “Come to the hackerspace when you can. And wake Wrench up while you’re at it.”

“Wrench?” he asked only to realise Sitara had already hung up on him. He lowered his phone back to the floor, staring blankly ahead, trying hard to summon up the energy to get up. He couldn’t even remember how he’d ended up on the floor let alone how he’d made it back to the house safely. He was really beginning to regret how much he’d had to drink.

“Ok, come on, get the fuck up,” Marcus muttered, reluctantly pushing himself up to his feet. He swayed lightly, his hand flying to his head as a throb of pain assaulted him. He tried to get his bearings before he moved, but a groan coming from the bed instantly distracted him. Freezing in place, he slowly turned his head and his eyebrows shot up.

Wrench was passed out in bed, his bare, tattooed back was facing Marcus. Soft, synthetic snores were escaping from the mask and now Marcus _really_ wished he remembered what the hell happened last night.

Still, he couldn’t help the smirk that tugged at his lips as he shook his head. His clothes were still on…mostly, so that was a good sign, right? He’d have to deal with Wrench later, right then he could really use a shower and an entire bottle of painkillers. Maybe then he could begin to piece together what had happened last night.

He grabbed a pair of clean clothes on his way out of the room.

 

***

 

An hour and a half later and Marcus finally managed to drag himself to the hackerspace still heavily hungover. Wrench had left while he had been in the shower and Marcus had paused briefly, long enough to wonder if he should be concerned about Wrench going out in the day, but he forgot all about it when he was nearly blinded by the sun himself. In his current state, he was just grateful for his dark glasses.

He slipped his hand into his pocket, fingers brushing over the stone as he approached the back wall of the game store. He couldn’t help, but be amused by the spray paint reading “TOURIST INFORMATION HERE” with an arrow that pointed at a seemingly empty wall, but he knew better now. He watched as the wall melted away before his eyes revealing the real door to DedSec’s base of operations.

Once the code had been typed in and the door opened, he slipped in and jogged down the stairs. He couldn’t help, but notice he was beginning to feel more excited about the situation. A mix of adrenaline and curiosity, he was about to be apart of something. It was no longer just himself and his computer.

Marcus couldn’t stop himself from looking around the space, admiring all the art work and various electronics strewn about. There seemed to be something new to see every time he showed up and there was a comforting hum of electricity that filled the air only adding to the music flooding the space. His eyes were still scanning the room before Sitara noticed he’d arrived.

“Finally!” she said, turning away from her printer. “Josh and I spoke about how to proceed.”

“We need a few things to take down Blume,” Horatio said, joining in as he approached Marcus. They clasped hands and hugged before continuing once he’d stepped back. “Blume isn’t stupid, they know they cannot fight us without using our own tactics against us. As you know, wards surround their systems that alert Blume of our presence. It’s how they detect anyone who is supernatural.”

“But they cannot detect you because you’re a dud,” Josh added as he walked by, carrying his laptop.

“Right, thanks Josh,” Horatio said. “We need to tear down the wards, it will make it easier for us to move out of the shadows. Now that we know the program worked, we just have to modify it enough to take down the wards for good. Preferably, without detection.”

“We’ll need to rally more of our kind together,” Sitara added. “Their combined energy should help, but I will handle that part.”

Horatio nodded. “After we set that up, we’ll need you to get the program past their firewalls again thanks to your backdoor, but that will be easier said than done. To take down their systems for good, we need a great deal of processing power. Enough to match theirs.”

“We need bots, lots of bots to handle the data ctOS is processing,” Josh spoke up.

“We spent all morning modifying our app so you can gain us followers,” Sitara said. “We can use their processing power for our cause.”

“This is really happening?” Marcus asked.

“Hell yeah, man!” Wrench announced loudly, sitting up on the couch. Marcus hadn’t even noticed the punk had been lying there, but nor did he hear Wrench continued on, something about barbarians because Horatio was already talking again.

“You’ll have to go out and preform ops to gain DedSec attention, we need exposure. The more followers downloading our app, the more processing power and the bigger ops we’ll be able to do,” Horatio said.

“Don’t worry, we’ll start with something fun,” Sitara said, lightly punching Marcus in the arm before she turned away and walked off with Horatio.

Wrench had gotten to his feet and paused for a long stretch before he moved over towards his workbench. “Marcus! Check you out, alive and sober, wasn’t sure after how much you’d had to drink last night.” He displayed carets on his mask as Marcus approached.

“Shit, what happened last night, man?” Marcus asked with a light laugh. He rubbed the back of his neck, wondering why he was suddenly nervous. Not like he had anything to be ashamed of, right? “With us…?”

“Oh, did you think? Did you…?” Wrench started.

“Did we…?”

“I don’t know—”

“So we didn’t?!”

Wrench doubled over, howling with laughter. He clutched at his stomach. “The look on your face! Shit man, you were so smashed. You practically begged me to stay and then passed out on the floor. Like I was going to pass up having a proper bed to sleep in!”

Marcus snorted. “What, is your coffin not comfortable enough?”

Wrench laughed harder, smacking his hand on the bench. “Oh fuck, that would probably be more comfortable than the couches around here. But really, I’ve slept in worse places.”

“Why don’t you just stay at the safe house?” Marcus question. Wrench’s laughter was contagious, Marcus couldn’t help the grin that was pulling at his lips. The nervousness was gone and he felt more relieved. If he was going to be working with Wrench, then getting drunk and sleeping with the man probably wouldn’t have been the best idea.

“We tend to keep it free for those running from Blume,” Wrench replied, “like you for instance.” Wrench shrugged. “Enough about that though, download our open source research app.”

“What’s it for?” Marcus asked, pulling out his phone.

“So, like, all of us here pool vulnerabilities that we find and we encourage everyone to share their work, their research, et cetera,” Wrench responded.

“So, what does the app do?” Marcus replied, already downloading it to his phone as he looked up at Wrench.

“Widen our skillset. Make us irresistible to the gender of our choice,” Wrench said with a flail of his hands.

Marcus chuckled and opened the app to check it out. He couldn’t help wondering exactly just what was Wrench’s ‘gender of choice.’ Was the man just playing with him? Or was Wrench open too? But he didn’t have time to ask as Horatio joined them.

“Is it still working?” Horatio asked, approaching Wrench. “It’s been a couple weeks.”

Marcus continued looking through the app, assuming Horatio was talking about the app, but it wasn’t long before the two caught his attention.

Wrench turned, holding up his wrist and Horatio inspected the black, string bracelet found there. “It’s wearing off, but it’s not bad.”

“A bracelet?” Marcus asked, his eyebrow cocked in curiosity which made Wrench laugh.

“Not all myths are a myth,” Wrench said, “vampires have an exaggerated allergy to the sun.”

“Do you catch fire?” Marcus asked.

“Oh yes, spontaneous combustion!” Wrench responded. “It’d be fucking awesome if I wasn’t on fire.”

“Really?!” The alarm on Marcus’s face made Wrench laugh again and Marcus scowled.

“No,” the vampire said with carets displayed on his mask.

Horatio laughed lightly. “Don’t be a dick. Sever boils and skin rashes. Prolonged exposure can be deadly because it saps their energy.”

“It’s more uncomfortable than anything. Makes me want to claw my fucking skin off, man,” Wrench said, “but Ratio is a genius.”

“It’s just a protection spell,” Horatio replied, “now hold still.” He held the bracelet in both hands with it still wrapped around Wrench’s wrist and stared at it blankly, whispering words Marcus could barely hear under his breath.

Marcus watched closely as Horatio’s eye lids began to droop before falling shut. It was only for a second, but when they opened again the pupils were gone, only the whites remained. Marcus’s breath caught in his throat from the unsettling shock of it. It was unnerving.

Wrench laughed softly. “Your heart sped up, Marcus!”

“Shut up!” Marcus replied lamely. It wasn’t his fault, he still wasn’t used to any of this. He knew it was going to be a while before he really was.

Horatio had been standing so still that it was nearly a shock when he moved again. He blinked, shaking his head as if to clear his mind, but when he looked up again the colour was back in his eyes. He stumbled backwards a step, catching himself on Wrench’s bench to steady himself.

“Is it getting worse?” Wrench asked, concern in his synthetic voice.

“I’m fine,” Horatio replied, putting on a smile. “You should be good now.”

Marcus saw the exhaustion in Horatio’s eyes. Whatever the man had done, had left him more drained than he wanted to admit. “Are you sure?” he asked, frowning slightly.

“Positive,” Horatio responded with another smile before he turned and went back to his desk. He was still a little unsteady on his feet, stumbling a little as he walked, but he refused to let it slow him.

“What was that?” Marcus asked quietly, turning towards Wrench. “Is he okay?”

“Voodoo,” Wrench replied, with a winking expression on his mask.

“Wrench, seriously,” Marcus said. He was worried about the other man and wasn’t interested in Wrench’s jokes at the moment.

“You’ll have to ask him the details,” Wrench replied, “if he wants to talk about it. He doesn’t want us to worry, so he tries to hide what it’s doing to him. It drains his energy every time he does anything involved with his abilities.”

“Shit,” Marcus replied, he didn’t know what else to say. He was frowning slightly as he glanced over at Horatio.

“Yeah, Sitara has us keeping an eye on him, there’s not much we can do about it,” Wrench said, shrugging slightly and before he could say more, Josh had joined them.

“Are you ready?” Josh asked, his computer securely in a bag over his shoulder.

“We’re moving the garage today, are you coming with?” Wrench asked, turning his gaze back to Marcus.

Marcus couldn’t deny his curiosity. How exactly did one move a garage? He grinned at the two. “Alright, let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man these chapters are flying by! I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for reading!   
> You can find me on tumblr at monochromenyghtmare!


	8. Chapter 8

_His lungs heaved, seeking the oxygen they so desperately craved. There just wasn’t enough as he ran through the dark. His lungs burned and his heart pounded in his chest so hard he was afraid it was going to break through his chest._

_Then there was the fear._

_Fear flowed through his veins like ice filling him with cold dread. It fuelled the desperate need to keep running. He had no clue what was chasing him, but he couldn’t stop. He felt like a caged animal, surrounded by trees on all sides with no way out. He was trapped._

_The moon shown bright and full behind him. Its pale glow was the only thing lighting the path through the forest before him. He ducked and weaved and dodged trees in his way, but it felt like their branches were reaching for him, clawing at his face and clothes. He could feel the panic raising further._

_He couldn’t stop it. He needed to go, needed to keep running. Surely if he stopped it mean death, but he couldn’t run forever. When would it end?_

_Help!_

_The cry was loud inside his own mind, but no sound left his lips. He couldn’t think passed the panic. His throat felt like it’d closed up. He couldn’t breathe anymore and he stumbled. Would have fallen too if hands hadn’t caught him, grabbing his biceps to stabilize him._

_“Marcus.”_

_The voice was calm, an attempt to soothe him, but his own inner voice was still telling him to run. He was hyperventilating. His eyes darting around as he struggled to get free, tried tearing away from the hands. He had to go. Had to get out of there._

_He was going to die here. He was going to die. He had to go now. His skin was crawling. It was painful. He wanted to claw it off. What was happening? Who had him?_

_Suddenly those arms tightened firmly on his biceps and he finally looked up at his captor, meeting a concerned, silver-eyed gaze._

_Wrench?_

_Why couldn’t he talk? He opened his mouth, but no sounds came out. He had to run. Why couldn’t he tell Wrench to run? They needed to get out of there._

_“Marcus,” Wrench repeated. “Wake up.”_

 

Marcus sat up fast, gasping for air. He’d almost smashed his head against Wrench’s in the process. The vampire had been standing over him, trying to rouse him.

It took Marcus a while to remember where he was. His heart was pounding loudly in his chest, thudding against his ribs so hard he could almost hear it. His lungs were burning with the laboured effort to get oxygen and he sucked in gulps of air desperately as if he couldn’t get enough. He’d even broken out into a cold sweat, could feel it rolling down his neck.

It took a moment for his vision to clear, for the panic to settle as the familiarity of the place began to surface. He’d fallen asleep on the couch in the hackerspace. The other hackers surrounded the couch, all looking at him with concern in their eyes. It made Marcus want to shrink away from them all and retreat into a darkened corner of shame.

_Fuck._

“You were dreaming, man,” Wrench said, his ever-present mask was on his face. “Trapped in a night mare, we couldn’t wake you.”

“Are you alright?” Sitara asked, voice laced with concern.

“Yeah, yeah, just… fuck,” Marcus said, swinging his legs off the couch. “I’m fine.” He scrubbed at his face viciously with his hands, trying to wipe away the memories of the dream.

“Alright, everyone, fuck off!” Wrench said loudly. “Give a man some space.” He shooed them all off, even Sitara who loudly protested, but Marcus was barely paying attention. He was still shaking when Wrench sat back down beside him.

“Did you wake me?” Marcus said once they were alone.

“Yeah, man, you looked like you were going to have a heart attack,” Wrench replied. His mask was blank as he looked at Marcus and Marcus couldn’t help, but wonder if it was out of concern for him.

“Thanks. I felt… trapped,” Marcus said, thinking out loud. He rubbed his temple sighing. “I need… fresh air.”

“Go grab a coffee?” Wrench suggested.

“Shit, yeah,” Marcus replied. “Or ten.”

 

 

The second they had stepped out into the sun, Marcus felt much better. He tilted his head up, eyes closed as he let the warmth of the sun wash away the last tendrils of cold terror still inside him. When he looked back at his companion again, there was a grin on his face.

“Does it make you sick?” Marcus asked as they began walking down the sidewalk.

“I can’t get sick,” Wrench replied, a questioning tilt to his response.

“The sun?”

“Just makes me anxious,” Wrench replied with a shrug. “All good.”

They fell into a companionable silence after that and Marcus suspected Wrench was giving him some space to work through his nightmare on his own. But Marcus was done thinking about that. His mind had begun to wander to what they had done the other day.

They’d moved a garage.

Then again, it hadn’t been nearly as exciting as it sounded. Marcus had gone expecting to see some kind of grand sorcery, but he’d gotten a whole lot of nothing. He hadn’t really known what he’d expected, but Josh meditating in the centre of the garage hadn’t been it. They had walked in together and stood guard while Josh did whatever it was that Josh did and then they left again, they walked out into a completely different neighbourhood.

Josh had explained that they owned many empty warehouses and garages all over the city that were all linked. He _‘simply_ ’, as Josh had put it, shifted the space. Marcus didn’t think there was anything simple about moving an entire space, but who was he to argue? The garage was safe again, that was all that mattered in the end.

Though, he couldn’t help, but wonder what Josh was.

“Earth to space cadet, Marcus,” Wrench said, waving a hand in front of Marcus’s face.

“Huh?”

“We’re here,” Wrench said, opening the door. He bowed, dramatically gesturing for Marcus to head into the doughnut shop first.

Marcus snorted as he moved in. He was instantly hit with the smell of sugary perfection and coffee and suddenly realised just how hungry he was, ravenous really. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten. Doughnuts might not have been the healthiest thing, but he was too hungry to care.

He led the other man to the back of the small shop, finding them a place that wasn’t too sunny for Wrench’s sake. “Can you eat?” he asked as he sat down.

Wrench laughed as he took a seat opposite the other man. “Can I! My body ‘functions,” he replied with quotes appearing on his mask even though he still used his fingers to make them. “Just don’t need to.”

Soon a server had wandered over to take their orders. Marcus couldn’t resist the doughnuts, but Wrench just ordered a coffee.

“About that dream, man, do you have them often?” Wrench asked, sitting back against the chair.

“Nah, couple times before,” Marcus replied with a shrug, “it’s nothing.”

“I used to get night terrors,” Wrench added, “when I was human.”

“In the 1920’s, right?” Marcus asked. He couldn’t help, but look around, paranoid someone might be listening to their conversation even though Wrench didn’t seem to care.

“1946 to be more exact. I got sick, fucking sick- _sick_ ,” Wrench replied, emphasizing the word sick. “I was still human then would have died too. Some doctors gave me some experimental medication that fucked me up. Caused the terrors.”

“Did they make you what you are?” Marcus asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

“Shit no, the medication killed me faster than the illness would have,” Wrench continued. “I collapsed in the street one night and got lucky some dude took pity on me. Slipped me his blood before I died.”

“Fuck, man,” Marcus replied. He still found it hard to believe Wrench was 93 years old and he couldn’t resist his own curiosity. “What is it like living forever, old man?”

Wrench snorted, but remained quiet as their order was placed on the table before them. Once the waitress had left, he leaned forward, hands wrapping around the warm mug. “I’m younger than you! What are you, 24? 25? I’m always 22.” Marcus just laughed as Wrench continued. “When shit can’t kill you, it’s like a rush to do every dangerous thing you can think of. I like the rush of adrenaline, makes me feel alive.”

“You feel dead otherwise?” Marcus mumbled with a mouthful of doughnut.

Wrench shrugged. “My heart is slower than a human’s.”

“And blood?”

“I need it to keep my heart beating. Sitara said it’s lifeforce or some shit about how I am living off borrowed life,” Wrench said. He pushed the leather part of his mask up and took a sip of the coffee before returning the mask. “Man, I can live forever, what do I care?”

“But you have to…” Marcus said, trailing off. He wasn’t really sure how to put it so he just pointed at his own neck.

Exclamation marks lit up his mask. “Why, Marcus, are you offering?” He directed a winking face at the other man.

Marcus choked on a sip of his coffee. He had to set the cup down as he coughed violently, but he quickly got it under control. Wrench was laughing at him, but he couldn’t deny his curiosity. “Would I turn?”

“No, not unless you drank my blood too,” Wrench replied, and Marcus must have grimaced because Wrench laughed. “You’d have to have a lot for that to happen.”

“But you have no control?” Marcus pushed the empty plate aside before reaching for his coffee again. He knew it was a dangerous thought, but plenty of fiction and retro movies made it seem as if it felt good. He was more than a little curious. For science of course, or at least that was what he told himself.

Wrench chuckled. “Marcus, your heart sped up.”

“Shit! How the hell do you do that?” Marcus asked.

“Good hearing,” the vampire replied, and Marcus just knew the man was grinning at him beneath that mask. “I have control just not the best if I don’t feed regularly. Sitara doesn’t like it when I feed on anything living. So, you’re safe.”

Marcus relaxed a little, but only because it meant Wrench had misunderstood the increased heartrate. He wasn’t afraid, but now he was a little disappointed. Not that he would admit that out loud. “Right.”

Wrench moved fast, too fast for Marcus’ eyes to track. He was suddenly sitting beside the other man, causing Marcus to jump when he invaded his space. Wrench pulled at his mask just enough to expose half his face and Marcus was transfixed, watching blue get swallowed by the silver in Wrench’s eyes.

Wrench smirked. “Unless…” Wrench said, “you really are offering.” He kept his face hidden from everyone, but Marcus, even as the waitress came over to give them the bill. Neither of them looked up.

A shiver went down Marcus’ spine and he mentally scolded himself. What was he? A fifteen-year-old boy? His body shouldn’t have been acting that way. He was an adult, he had self-control.

Still… his heartrate spiked again…

Wrench grinned, covering his face with the mask again as he stood. He was backing up towards the doorway. “We should get back.”

Marcus swallowed around the knot in his throat and shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He quickly got to his feet and fished his wallet out. He threw money on the table to cover the bill before he chased after the vampire who’d already slipped out the door.

Wrench was leaning against the wall as he waited for Marcus. “Slow much?”

“Yeah, you left me with the bill,” Marcus said with a grin. He really didn’t care. Wrench had only gotten a coffee after all.

“I’ll pay you back later,” Wrench replied, shooting a winking face in Marcus’s direction.

“Shit, you’re just lucky I like you… _Edward_ ,” Marcus added, grinning at Wrench’s protest.

They headed back to the hackerspace together, Wrench talking Marcus' ear off the whole way. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!


	9. Chapter 9

Marcus was finding it difficult to think of ops to gain them followers. It had been two days since he’d done the first one.

It had been simple. He’d found a man in the park protesting a rich pharma executive, Gene Carcani, who was flaunting the money he stole from the sick. The executive was willing to pay big to keep Bobo Dakes’ next song all to himself.

It hadn’t just been about the followers then, Marcus had had the opportunity to do something good for people. So he tracked Bobo down, ‘burrowed’ a sample of his latest track and went to the executives house.

All he had to do was hack in and use the soundboard the DedSec crew had provided him. It was easy. Carcani made a sizeable, unknowing donation to an excellent charity and Bobo Dakes’ song was saved for the public.

It had been for a good cause and a hell of a lot of fun, but it hadn’t really net that much in the way of followers. They needed something bigger, better.

But what?

He’d been traveling around the city and its surrounding areas in the search for that something, but so far everything had been small issues. All minor problems that didn’t get much publicity. He was building them a fanbase, but it wasn’t quite enough.

He was beginning to get a little discouraged. So, he decided to take a break and found himself in a small café in Oakland. He was nursing a coffee by the window, watching the passers-by silently.

He couldn’t help, but wonder if any of them knew what he knew. Or perhaps they were supernatural themselves. Peaceful people who had to remain in the shadows because of Blume threatening their lives.

Marcus couldn’t stand for it. He wouldn’t. He had to do something to help.

Just then his phone chirped, an incoming call from DedSec lit up the screen and pulled Marcus from his private thoughts. He quickly answered it.

“Marcus! Guys!” Wrench voice filled Marcus’s headphones. “The CyberDriver trailer just dropped!”

“Aw yeah, sweet!” Marcus replied, sitting up in his chair. All his previous thoughts dashed from his mind in the excitement that followed.

Although, he found it entertaining, to say the least, that a vampire would be into the same nerdy things he was. Especially a punk like Wrench, but Wrench wasn’t at all like the stereotypical vampires in human literature. Still, it amused him nonetheless.

“Hey, don’t watch it without me!” he added.

“Meet you at the hackerspace,” Sitara replied with a laugh.

“I’m on my way!”

Marcus ended the call and hastily climbed to his feet. All pretence of his current mission forgotten in the excitement he felt. He’d been waiting for weeks for the trailer and now it was finally out. He paused long enough to throw down some money before heading back to his bike.

_This was going to be good!_  
  


***

 

“Yo, Marcus! Have you seen the trailer for the new Jimmy Siska movie?!”

Marcus had barely stepped foot in the place before Wrench was tugging him towards the couch. The spiked hacker was carrying on about needing the perfect sound and screen and comfort the whole way and to be honest, Marcus was only half listening. He was far too thrilled.

“Uh have you seen it yet?” Marcus asked, turning to look at the vampire. He quirked an eyebrow questioningly.

“No, man, I waited for you!” Wrench replied, throwing question marks in Marcus’s direction.

“You’re the best, thank you!” Marcus responded and the two fist bumped. Marcus was grinning.

As the trailer began to play, the others slowly drifted over. Even Josh managed to peel himself away from his computer, though he wasn’t all that interested, but Marcus barely noticed as he and Wrench animatedly reacted to the trailer.

If he was being honest, the movie its self didn’t look like it would be that great. The most interesting aspect of it was their use of DedSec, or rather, DeathSekt. Marcus hadn’t heard of the group of hackers until recently and he couldn’t help, but wonder how the script writers had found out. What other details could they have on the real DedSec and did they know what really was happening?

Then there were the puns, the terrible puns. Marcus loved them. But of course, what he really loved was his all-time favourite action hero badass, Jimmy Siska. The soul reason to see the movie! And then, there was the car, the talking car. Who didn’t want one of those?

Of course, Marcus couldn’t help but gush all of this to the others once the trailer had ended, and that was when it dawned on him.

_The car!_

He’d been so desperate to gain them followers early and now an idea had just fallen right into his lap. They needed the publicity, what better way to gain followers than by making their own trailer with _that_ car?

Marcus jumped to his feet and told the others what he was thinking. Talking excitedly with animated hands as he explained his forming plan. Sitara was on board instantly and it was obvious, so was Wrench. Josh was the only one who looked like he needed some convincing.

They were going to steal themselves a car.

“First, I will go to the studio to get that script,” he continued, “Ill look around and see what other gems they have about ‘DeathSekt.’ And I’ll look for the car.”

Wrench was more than willing to get started. He practically leapt off the couch. Sitara was too, she went straight to work on putting together a video in the aesthetic Marcus was really enjoying. Josh, however, hung back, still worried, but eventually he caught on to everyone’s enthusiasm.

Soon Marcus was on his way out of the hackerspace, Wrench close on his heels, but they parted ways once they were on the street. Wrench was headed to the garage to wait while Marcus was off to steal a script.

His spirits were much higher now that he had a mission to do. He just couldn’t wait to get his hands on that car.  


***  


Breaking into the studio had gone quite smoothly. All he needed was his drone. He stole the script right away from right under their noses and soon after he hacked their private emails, sending them both to Josh.

The security guards hadn’t even known he’d been there. It was kind of sad, if Marcus was being honest. For a production on hackers, they hadn’t even bothered to protect their own files securely. He was in and out without a hitch.

After that, it hadn’t taken Josh long to go through the emails. Unfortunately, he couldn’t give Marcus a location, but there had been a mention of the car. Sitara had come through with a lead, a paparazzi contact of hers. Luckily, the guy had exactly what Marcus was looking for.

Then all he had to do was wait.

During his down time, he had discovered the writers knew next to nothing about the real DedSec other than the fact it was a group of hackers. Evidently, the name was just catchy enough for their movie.

He waited around until night, casing the place from a nearby café. Making mental notes of the guards’ positions, their shift changes. He knew their steps by the time he decided to move. It wouldn’t be too hard, a few guards. He could handle it.

Soon the car would be theirs.

Marcus dropped himself over the fence and slid up to a cargo pallet. He crouched, pressing his back flat against the shipment boxes. He listened then, straining his ears for the guard he knew would eventually approach his location.

It wasn’t long before he heard the footsteps. His fingers curled around his Thunderball as he waited. He could feel his adrenaline kick in, the excitement for what he was about to do was flowing through him.

The man stopped directly behind the crate right where Marcus knew he would.

Marcus held his breath, waiting.

A soft shuffle of feet, the cop had turned. It was the same action the dayshift guards had taken. Now as his chance.

Marcus rounded the corner, throwing the rope of his weapon around the guy’s neck and he pulled tight, bracing himself as the man struggled. He’d caught the cop of guard just as he planned. The guy struggled, but the harder he struggled, the quicker he ran out of breath and soon he slipped into unconsciousness.

Marcus lowered the cop to the ground gently and quickly stood back up. He was ready to move forward when—

“Freeze!”

Marcus’ hands shop up in the air instantly. He felt the gun aimed at his back before he even saw it and he swore under his breath. He couldn’t exactly talk his way out of this one, but he had to try. Where had the extra guard come from anyway?

“Officer, it’s not what it looks li—”

“Save it!” the officer snapped. “Don’t move an inch. Bradley, check his pulse.”

“I found him like t—”

“I said shut it!” the cop growled.

“He has a pulse, Jim,” another man replied. Marcus assumed it must have been Bradley. He couldn’t see with his back to the two cops.

_Fuck, fuck, fuck_. How had he been so stupid?

“Cuff him!” the first cop spoke. Jim, Marcus assumed.

“Shit!” Marcus shouted as he was roughly shoved up against the building face first. He felt his arms roughly tugged down one by one and the cool metal of the cuffs snapped around his wrists. He could feel the icy chill of panic begin to raise.

“Search him,” Jim said, gun still aimed at Marcus.

“Hey watch it!” Marcus said. He tried to pull away, but the cop slammed him harder into the wall.

“Stand still!” Bradley instructed, a stern threat as he began to pat Marcus down. It wasn’t long before his stun gun was found and removed.

The panic was swelling. It was hard to think straight with a gun pointed at his back, but he had to remain calm. _Come on, Marcus, think of something!_ He argued with himself. “Watch your hands! I swear I found him like this!”

_Real smooth_ , he chastised himself. He had to get out of there. He supposed he could knock the cop back and run, but that was easier said than done now that he was cuffed. He really didn’t feel like taking a bullet to the spine any time soon.

“You’re going to jail for a long time,” the cop, Bradley, growled in his ear, “resisting arrest, assaulting an officer, and attempted murder.”

“Naw, man! It wasn’t like that!” Marcus protested. Of course, it wasn’t attempted murder, but the officer certainly wasn’t going to see it that way. He was fucked. It was his word against the cops. “I’m not resisting!”

“Shut up!”

Marcus could feel the panic squeezing his lungs. Surely the car wasn’t worth his freedom. Would DedSec try and get him out? Could they? Just because they were supernatural didn’t mean they had the power to break him out. That would only expose them to Blume.

No, Marcus was alone in this one. He needed to run. He’d just have to wait until the right moment.

“Move!” Bradley said, roughly yanking Marcus away from the wall.

Marcus stumbled, but quickly gained his footing only to suddenly feel the gun in his back, hard metal pressing up against him. A hard knot rose in his throat. His heart was hammering away in his chest, he could hear the blood rushing in his ear. His eyes darted around nervously, desperately searching for an escape route. Each step he took, the fear rose. The panic was strangling him. He felt trapped.

And then…

Nothing.

Darkness swallowed up as he passed out.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for being so late! Got busy again! I hope you enjoyed it! MUAW HAHAH cliffie, please don't attack me! XD Thanks for reading! There will be more much sooner!


	10. Chapter 10

_He was running again, through the trees and shadows. The moon was high above, lighting the forest path before him like a trail that lead him deeper and deeper into the woods. But there was no fear this time. Only the rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins._

_This time he wasn’t being chased, he was doing the chasing. He could feel the excitement racing through him. The thrill of a hunt. His heart pounded in his chest, thumping like it struggled to break free of its cage. With each beat, it pumped adrenaline through him, fire flooding his system._

_Blood rushed loudly in his ears and his lungs burned, but he couldn’t feel it. He felt so good. So free. He felt alive._

_But it didn’t last long. Suddenly he felt wrong. His whole body felt wrong like his skin was crawling. It felt tight, painful. He wanted to claw it off, it hurt so bad. It felt like his skin had shrunk around his bones._

_He began to panic. The pain was becoming too much. His limbs were growing clumsier and suddenly he tripped. He went crashing down to the earth below, but he never felt the impact. The ground had ripped open before him and he plunged into darkness._  
  


_***_  


Marcus groaned. His hand instantly flew to his head. What the hell had happened? Why did he feel so sore? And, more importantly, why the fuck did his bed feel so hard?

He slowly cracked an eye open only to find the darkened sky above him littered with stars and that was when it all came rushing back to him. The studio. The cops. The cuffs.

AND THE CAR!

He sat up fast, all his muscles protesting at the sudden movement. He was still at the cars location in the alley where the cops had caught him. He didn’t know how long he’d been out, but at least it was still dark.

He’d been attack and the security guards… he turned his head, searching for any sign of the men who had cuffed him earlier, but they were all gone.

“What the fuck happened?” he wondered out loud as he climbed to his feet. He fished his phone out of his pocket and check the time only to find he had ten missed calls. All from Wrench. And there were a million text messages as well that he thumbed through quickly.

The messages basically all said the same thing. Wrench had been worried. He didn’t have time, but he paused long enough to send a text back before pocketing his phone.

‘ _On the way’_

He quickly retrieved his weapons from the ground. The last thing he remembered, the cops had taken them away. How they had gotten on the floor, he wasn’t sure, and again he couldn’t help, but wonder what the hell had happened, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.

He jogged out of the alley only to freeze again. The cops were strewn about all bruised and battered but from what Marcus could tell, they weren’t hurt. Not critically, there was no blood.

He walked to the nearest one and knelt to find the guy’s pulse in his wrist. It didn’t take long to find the steady beat. It was strong and he let out a breath he hadn’t even realised he had been holding. Someone had done a number on the cops, but at least they were alive. Or he assumed they all were alive.

He didn’t have time to dwell on it. He needed to get the car and split. Whatever had happened, the guards were clearly out. Now was the time to move. So, he turned and rushed to the trailer. The best news of the night was when he threw open the doors of the trailer and the car as still safely inside. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to enjoy the moment.

Sirens suddenly blared into existence down the street and Marcus needed to act fast. He jumped into the car and took off immediately.

His worries had all been temporarily forgotten the second he tore out onto the street. It had been a rush. An absolute thrill to steal the car and it got his adrenaline pumping. The best part was that the car actually spoke!

Or at least he’d though it had…

Of course, Wrench just had to burst that bubble the second he’d made it back to the garage. The punk hacker had been controlling the voice the entire time. At least Marcus still had the experience to hold on to!

Shortly after, Josh confirmed that the car had been designed to be autonomous, but it was missing the parts and configurations. Evidently, the studio went the cheap route. Lucky for them, they had Josh and Wrench, both quiet capable engineers.

After that it only took a little pushing and they all had a plan. It would take some time, but they were going to fix up the car and Marcus’ plan to gain them followers was going to work. They all split up to get started.

Josh headed out with Sitara and Marcus was following behind them when Wrench stopped him.

“Yo, Marcus, wait up!”

Marcus felt Wrench’s fingers grab his arm before he could follow Sitara out the door. He turned to face the punk. “Everything alright?”

“What happened to you tonight?” Wrench asked. Marcus could hear what sounded like concern in his synthetic voice. “There was chatter over the scanners. Some shit about catching a kid around the car and then nothing. I tried to reach you, but…”

“I wasn’t answering my phone,” Marcus finished his sentence, “I saw the missed calls.”

“So, what the fuck, man?” Wrench pushed.

Marcus grinned. “You were worried about me, huh?”

“Man, seriously, what happened?” Wrench replied. Two slashes appeared on his mask giving him the appearance of annoyance.

“I have no clue what happened,” Marcus responded with a shrug. “Honestly, I thought it was one of you. I got caught. The cops cuffed me, but I passed out when they started hauling me off. I woke up later and they were all unconscious. So, I took the car and bailed.”

“Shit, are you alright, dude?” Wrench asked as question marks flashed on his mask. His head moved and Marcus didn’t need to see his eyes to know he was looking him over.

“Yeah, aside from having new bracelets,” Marcus replied, holding up his wrists where the broken cuffs were still locked to each wrist.

Wrench snorted. “Amateur.” He reached out with both hands and grabbed opposite sides of one cuff. He pulled it apart into two halves with what seemed like hardly any strength at all. It tore like paper in his hands and he dropped them to the floor before moving on to the remaining cuff.

Marcus’ eyes grew wide in shock causing Wrench to laugh at him. “Shit, man,” he said, staring at his now free wrists. He rubbed at the reddened marks. “How strong are you exactly?”

The masked vampire shot him a winking face before heading back to his work space. “Not to brag, but I can bench press a car!”

Marcus followed him with a snort. “Bullshit!”

“Honest!”

“So, why was the big, strong vampire worried about me?” Marcus teased with a grin. He leaned against Wrench’s metal work bench, crossing his arms over his chest.

Wrench sighed and turned to face him. “Because you’re fragile. Me? I can be shot, stabbed, even set on fire. It doesn’t matter as long as my hearts not fucked up. I should be doing this shit,” he said, his animated hands flying about as he spoke. “Not you.”

“Wrench, I—”

“Men were after you, Marcus, I’ve saved you how many times? I couldn’t get hold of you so I assumed the worst,” Wrench continued. The annoyed slashes were back on Wrench’s mask.

Marcus felt guilty then. He shouldn’t have pushed the other man so far. Though it did surprise him that Wrench cared that much. Not many people did, especially to a guy you had just met.

The truth was, Marcus was still freaked out himself. He’d come so close to getting arrested and then he passed out for nearly an hour. That was an hour of lost time. He had no clue what had happed. Why had he passed our and who attacked the cops? If it was to steal the car, why had they left it behind?

Marcus’ head was spinning. Maybe it didn’t matter. They got the car. He was safe. Still, he couldn’t shake a strange feeling…

“Yo, Marcus, are you in there?” Wrench said, waving a hand in front of Marcus’ face to get the other’s attention.

Marcus shook his head to clear his thoughts. “Right, man, I need a drink or six.”

“I’m with you, but, as I was saying when you spaced, I need to… y’know… eat so, I’ll meet you at the bar?” Wrench asked, question marks flashed on his mask.

“Why don’t we just…” Marcus started to speak, but trailed off as he realised what Wrench meant by that. He needed to feed. The curiosity resurfaced in his mind. “What does it feel like?”

“What?” Wrench asked.

“Being bitten.”

Wrench’s mask went blank as he stared at the other man for a moment. Marcus got the feeling he was trying to figure out if he was being serious or not.

The vampire suddenly shrugged. “I can control how it feels. Offering?” he teased with a winking face on his mask.

“Yes,” Marcus replied rather matter-of-factly before his brain could catch up with what his mouth was saying.

“What… I… shit, seriously?”

Marcus grinned smugly which was a lot more confident than he felt. “Yes, do it. We’ll get to the bar quicker.”

“I told you I don’t have the best control…”

“Wrench, I trust you. Do it before I change my mind,” Marcus said. He reached behind him and pulled out his stun gun. He held it up to show Wrench before placing it on the work bench beside him. “I can defend myself.”

Wrench swallowed hard as he reached up and touched his mask. A moment of hesitation caused him to pause before he slowly removed it. He looked at Marcus then, blue eyes revealing the concern he had, but he set the mask beside Marcus’ gun.

“Are you sure?” he asked in his natural voice.

Marcus watched as the blue was suddenly washed out by silver. He shivered, from nerves or excitement, he wasn’t sure. “Yes.”

Wrench stepped closer, reaching out for Marcus. His fingers brushed along Marcus’ jaw before they came to rest on the side of the other’s neck. He leaned in towards Marcus’s ear. “I promise, it won’t hurt.”

Marcus’s nerves flared then, but he didn’t pull away. He held onto Wrench’s hips, fingers clutching nervously at the fabric of the other’s hoodie and he let out a shaky breath. “Do it.”

The second Wrench’s teeth had pierced his neck, Marcus was in heaven. His anxious nerves were instantly replaced with a pleasure that flowed through his veins, making his legs weak. He sagged against Wrench, a groan escaping his lips.

His mind was in a pleasurable haze. He couldn’t focus on anything. Like every nerve ending was firing all at once in the best possible way. He didn’t think anything could be better than sex, but this… this was the best possible high.

It seemed to span on forever and yet not long enough. He felt like he was floating and he didn’t want it to end, but the spell was broken the second Wrench pulled back with a gasp. The fog faded and Marcus found Wrench’s hand cradling the back of his head. Wrench’s other arm had wrapped around his back, holding him close.

Wrench looked at Marcus. The pupils in his now blue eyes were blown wide and his pale lips were lightly stained red. He swallowed hard. His tongue swiped away the blood on his lips before they curved into a smirk.

Marcus was suddenly very aware of how uncomfortable his pants had become and the fact his erection was pressing into Wrench’s thigh. His breath caught in his throat when Wrench pressed back against him.

“Fuck,” Marcus breathed out. There was fire in his veins now, a desperate need to get off and he knew Wrench was just as aroused. He could feel the other’s erection pressing back against him. “What was that?”

“I don’t know,” Wrench replied, voice breathy, “I haven’t done that before.”

Marcus was kissing him then. He could taste the coppery taste of blood on Wrench’s lips, but he was far too desperate to care, especially when it was his own blood. His hands dropped to Wrench’s pants, fighting them open with clumsily fingers.

Wrench kissed back as his own hands dropped to Marcus’ pants. He’d nearly gotten in too when he suddenly stumbled backwards like Marcus had repulsed him. “Fuck!”

“Wrench?” Marcus asked, alarm clear in his voice.

“Control,” Wrench muttered and he swore loudly again. He held his hand out as Marcus tried to approach him. “Don’t.”

“What?”

Wrench looked up and Marcus could see the silver in his eyes once again. “Mask, please…”

Marcus suddenly snapped out of the aroused haze when he realised what was happening. Wrench was loosing control. He quickly grabbed the mask and passed it to the vampire, watching as the other man quickly put it back on. “I shouldn’t have pushed…”

Wrench shook his head. “No, I… fuck…”

The moment was over. Marcus could feel the heat already draining out of him. He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. Coffee?”

Wrench pointed at him. “Good idea, let’s get out of here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it was time I upped that rating, eh? Poor boys. Sorry for the delay again. I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

_“Fuck, Wrench…”_

_Marcus’ hand flew out beside him, fisting in the sheets of his bed. The other hand was currently tangled in the ashy strands of Wrench’s hair as pleasure grew inside him._

_Wrench slid his hands up Marcus’ bare thighs, lips brushing over the other’s hip. A grin tugged at his lips just before he sank his fangs into the warm skin again, groaning softly when he tasted Marcus on his tongue._

_Marcus gasped, fingers tightening in the sheets. He cursed loudly as the pleasure filled him once again. His head was cloudy, a desire filled haze. He moaned, eyes falling shut as heat spread through him._

_Wench slid a hand over the obvious bulge in Marcus’ boxers, running his palm over the other’s heated arousal, squeezing him through the thin fabric._

_It felt good, too good. Every nerve in Marcus’ body was on fire with the pleasure of it. He cursed, back arching off the bed. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d ever felt this good and he wanted more. Needed more._

_“Wrench, please…” he gasped out._

_And those fingers were teasing into his boxers, almost there—_

_“WRENCH, LEAVE HIM ALONE!”_

  
***  


The words tore through Marcus’s dream in an instant. He sat up with a jolt, gasping. His heart was thudding in his chest, blood coursing through his veins to regions he really didn’t need it going. It took a minute for his brain to catch up.

He’d fallen asleep on the couch in the hackerspace and Wrench had invaded his dreams once again. He really wouldn’t have minded except it really wasn’t the most ideal location to be hard as a fucking rock.

He quickly pulled his laptop bag over his lap, shooting a glare over his shoulder at the spiked hacker.

“What? I did nothing wrong!” Wrench replied, feigning innocence.

“Bullshit!” Sitara replied, “stay out of his dreams.”

“I couldn’t enter them if he didn’t want me there,” Wrench protested, completely shattering his attempt to feign his innocence.

Marcus interrupted as Sitara opened her mouth to reply, “I am sitting right here!”

The two instantly shut up.

“I’ll get you back later, Wrench!” Marcus said, shooting the vampire a grin before he settled back on the couch.

It had been a week since they’d… whatever you’d call it... Since Wrench had bitten him and, besides a lecture from Sitara, they really hadn’t talked about it again. Though Marcus would only be lying to himself if he said he hadn’t thought about it often. He was just grateful things hadn’t gotten awkward between them.

Though Wrench did like to tease him…

Since then, things had gone back to normal, or as normal as it got around DedSec. Together, they had managed to fix up the Cyberdriver car, setting it up so that Marcus was able to race it driverless across the city, with an added show of pyrotechnics from Wrench of course.

No one had known what to make of the event when it made the news almost instantly, but thanks to Sitara’s amazing art, DedSec had net a ton of followers. Now it was up to Marcus to find more, after all, there was no rest for the wicked.

Once he was sure his body had calmed down from Wrench’s rude awakening — or rather Sitara’s intervention before something embarrassing had happened — he finally stood up and stretched. He pulled his laptop bag back on in preparation to go out when, out of the corner of his eye, Josh caught his attention and he turned to look.

Marcus watched as Josh channelled his strange electrical energy into his computer. The tiny blue jolts twisted around his fingers as if they were alive and sprang into the tower. Curiosity got the better of him.

“Hey, Josh,” Marcus said, approaching the man in question, “how do you do that?”

“He’s a fairy!” Wrench replied from across the room, his tone was teasing.

The connection broke instantly at Wrench’s words. Josh pulled his hand back. “It’s fae,” he replied, “not fairy. And I am only half.”

Sitara smacked Wrench upside the back of the head.

“Hey, _ow_!” Wrench said, semicolon tears appeared on his mask as he looked at Sitara.

“Oh please, you big baby,” Sitara replied dismissively before heading over to where Marcus stood behind Josh. “Ignore Wrench, he likes to make jokes of everything. Josh is a halfling. Of what, we aren’t exactly sure, but he can manipulate electrical energies and basically make machines do the impossible.”

Josh had retrieved a small, silver object from beneath his monitor while Sitara spoke. He held it up in his palm so Marcus could get a better look. It appeared to be some sort of USB device that closely resembled a large beetle. It had a camera lens for a face and small clockwork legs poking out the sides.

“That shit is dope, you made it?” Marcus asked, looking up at Josh.

“It’s a camera,” Josh said, confirming Marcus’ thoughts, “but it still doesn’t work yet.”

“You’ll get it, Josh!” Sitara said encouragingly.

“Thanks,” Josh replied.

“I’m heading to the garage,” Wrench interrupted, “Marcus, I have a job for you, come see me there later!”

“I’ll stop over in a bit,” Marcus replied before turning back to the others. “I am going to head out too. Catch you later.”

***

 

“Yo, Wrench, you wanted to see me?”

“Yo, M.”

Marcus popped out his headphones as he approached Wrench’s work space. The man didn’t even bother look up from whatever surgery he was performing on a toaster, he just pointed at his laptop with a screw driver.

“Hey, yo, check out this fuckstick,” Wrench said, far too occupied with the toaster he went back to violating with the screwdriver.

Marcus cocked an eyebrow questioningly, but he turned to the PC anyway, pushing play.

"HAUM systems are completely bullet proof,” the ‘fuckstick’ in question said on screen.

Marcus snorted as he listened to the prick drone on about how safe HAUM 2.0 was. It was humorous really. He believed the man had used the term “absolutely secure.” It sounded an awful lot like a challenge to him. And then it got worse.

"Bold claims, Steven. Aren't you worried hacker groups will see that as a challenge?" the interviewer said.

"Well, say what you mean, Shirely. DedSec,” Steven responded.

So, it was a challenge! The gears in Marcus’s head were already turning. He was, after all, still looking for ways to net them more followers and this was shaping up to be the perfect opportunity.

“HAUM 2.0 is an OS with teeth,” the man said, but Marcus had heard enough. He closed the laptop, grinning.

“Yo, he called us out by name,” Marcus said.

“Yup,” Wrench replied shortly, then he paused as if he was pondering something. He slowly looked up at Marcus with large O’s flashing on his mask. “You said us.”

Caught off guard, Marcus shot the masked hacker a quizzical look. “What?”

“I think that is the first time you’ve called DedSec ‘us’,” Wrench replied with semi-colon tears displaying on his mask. He feigned a sniffle. “They grow up so fast!”

“Oh, shut up,” Marcus replied. “He don’t know who he’s fucking with. It’s on now.”

Wrench laughed briefly before he carried on about how he’d been trying to crack 2.0. The explanation, of course, involved what Marcus thought to be an effortless use of a sledgehammer. The poor toaster never stood a chance – although Marcus was pretty sure Wrench could have just crushed it with his hands.

A few crude gestures later from Wrench and raised eyebrows from Marcus, Wrench finished his explanation. They needed to find a new chip created just for 2.0. Marcus was going to be stealing a shipment, he just hoped it went better than last time.

Hacking the HAUM OS for live television was going to be a great way to gain them a boost in followers. He couldn’t wait to get started, but first he had a sneaking suspicion that wasn’t the only reason he was doing this.

“What are they really planning to do,” he asked, pausing on his way to the door. He turned back to face Wrench. “Why did they really call DedSec out by name?”

“It all links back to the fucksticks at Blume,” Wrench said, crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s security that spies on you, reporting back to Blume.”

“Shit,” Marcus replied, “no longer safe in your own home.”

“Not when Blume’s looking for people like me,” Wrench replied. “One of us buys a home and suddenly Blume knows where you live, who your friends are, who you’re fucking...” He rambled on, listing things off on his fingers.

“Like my apartment only this time they’ll know when to strike,” Marcus finished.

“Exactly,” Wrench replied, “Good thing they can’t see your dreams, huh Marcus?” He shot the other a winking face.

“Fucker!” Marcus said, and Wrench burst out laughing.

Once the spiked hacker had calmed down, his tone took on a more serious note. “Though if we can crack 2.0, we can use it against them. Find the people like us and get them to safety.”

“It’s a solid plan,” Marcus replied, backing towards the garage door as it slid open. “I’ll call you when I get there.”

 

***

 

Marcus dumped a stolen bike not too far from HAUM’s distribution centre so he could carefully make his way there on foot. If he wanted this to go smoother than his fight over the stolen Cyberdriver car, he needed to be stealthier.

He followed Wrench’s instructions with ease as soon as he’d arrived. He’d broken into their security office and stole the delivery information straight from their computer. And again, he was left to wonder why their security was so poor, but he didn’t have the time to ponder it.

He’d quickly found the truck containing the correct shipment and he set out to steal it.

It didn’t take long. He relocated himself to the other side of the facility, ducking behind some crates. From there, it had been an easy place to test out his new quadcopter. The plan was to use the camera in the quadcopter to hack the truck’s smart system. He was able to drive the truck straight out past security without even setting foot inside.

The plan had been simple and for once it had worked.

The guards’ confusion was absolute comedy, but Marcus didn’t have long to enjoy it. With them distracted, he leapt into the van and sped off before anyone had had a chance to call the cops. He was in the clear! Not even spotted once.

Of course, once he’d returned to Wrench’s garage, the man had already jumped into the back before Marcus could even shut the engine off. The eager hacker was too busy tossing boxes aside to appreciate Marcus’ cunning theft, so he didn’t even bother.

In the end, they’d gotten what they’d needed. Wrench was the proud new owner of one of HAUM’s new security bots — which he’d effortlessly lifted out of the back of the truck all by himself — and they were well on their way to cracking HAUM’s security upgrade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay guys. Life is kicking my butt lately! I really hope you enjoy the chapter and there will be more from me soon! Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back! With one of two chapter fics I intend to write. An AU this time. I hope you like it! There will be more soon. Thanks for reading!


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